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I 



DANTON 

AND 

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 




Danton 
From a portrait said to have been painted by David 



DANTON 

AND THE 

FRENCH REVOLUTION 



BY CHARLES F. WARWICK 

AUTHOR OF MIRABEAU AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 




PHILADELPHIA 

GEORGE W. JACOBS & COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 



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Copyright, igo8 
By George W. Jacobs &* Co. 

Published April, 1908 



All Rights Reserved 
Printed in U. S. A 



PREFACE 

When " Mirabeau and the French Revolu- 
tion " was published, I stated that it would be 
followed in turn by the Lives of Danton and 
Robespierre, that it was my purpose to trace 
briefly the causes of the Revolution and group its 
principal events around these men who were the 
manifestation of the Revolution in its three dis- 
tinctive periods. Although each book will be 
separate and complete in itself, the three volumes 
will form a series covering the entire period of 
the Revolution. 

Charles F. Warwick. 

Philadelphia, February, 1908. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I PAGE 
Mirabeau and Danton 17 

CHAPTER II 
Danton's Birth — Arcis sur Aube — Political, Religious 
and Social Conditions in France 22 

CHAPTER III 
Home Influences of Danton — School Days — The Coro- 
nation of Louis XVI 35 

CHAPTER IV 
Danton Chooses Law as His Profession — Comes to 
the Bar — Marries — Avocat aux Conseils du Roi — 
His Studies — Camille Desmoulins 45 

CHAPTER V 
Conditions Immediately Prior to the Revolution — 
Reveillon Affair — Louis XVI — His Ministers — His 
Habits — His Character 53 

CHAPTER VI 
Advisers of the King — The Queen — The Finances — 
Revolutions Begin at the Top 70 

CHAPTER VII 
Danton in the Early Days of the Revolution — The Af- 
fair of Soules — Marat — The Incident of Marat — Early 

Events of the Revolution JJ 

9 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VIII p AGE 

Death of Mirabeau — Louis Attempts to go to St. 
Cloud — Danton Intervenes — The Flight of the Royal 
Family to Varennes 102 

CHAPTER IX 
Paris After the Flight of the King — La Fayette in 
Peril — La Fayette Denounced by Danton at the 
Jacobins 127 

CHAPTER X 
Return of the King to Paris 137 

CHAPTER XI 
Danton Favors a Republic — Danton Urges Depo- 
sition of the King — Republican Society Proclaims 
Republic — The Assembly Decrees the Inviolability 
of the King — The Club of the Cordeliers Issues 
Public Address — Fusillade of the Champ de Mars.. 149 

CHAPTER XII 
Convocation of the New Assembly — King's Return 
to Popularity — Reactions in His Favor — His Ad- 
visers — His Deception — Marie Antoinette — Return 
of Danton From Exile 165 

CHAPTER XIII 
The Feuillants — The Club of the Cordeliers Where 
Danton Ruled — The Girondins — Madame Roland 
— War Issues — Danton After Some Hesitation 
Favors the War — Vetoes — Dumouriez — Danton and 
Dumouriez 176 

CHAPTER XIV 

Death of Leopold — Assassination of Gustavus III, 

King of Sweden — Francis II Makes Proclamation 

— Danton Hurls Defiance — War Declared April 21, 

1792 — Defeat of the French Troops — Death of Gen- 

10 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

eral Dillon — Deputies From Marseilles Present Peti- 
tion to the Assembly — Day of the Black Breeches — 
Petion 193 

CHAPTER XV 
La Fayette Comes to Paris — La Fayette — Danton and 
La Fayette 209 

CHAPTER XVI 
The Marseillais — The Marseillaise Hymn — Lamourette 
Kiss — The Day of Federation 220 

CHAPTER XVII 
Enlistment — Proclamation of the Duke of Brunswick — 
Marseillais enters Paris — Brush With the Filles St. 
Thomas 226 

CHAPTER XVIII 
The Tenth of August 238 

CHAPTER XIX 
Danton's Activity — Longwy Capitulates — Domiciliary 
Visits 256 

CHAPTER XX 
The September Massacres 264 

CHAPTER XXI 
Paris During the Revolution — Manners — Customs — 
Conditions — The Guillotine 277 

CHAPTER XXII 
Was Danton Responsible for the September Massa- 
cres? — La Fayette Abandons His Command — Du- 
mouriez Named His Successor — Cannonade of 
Valmy — Danton's Energy — Duke de Chartres — 

Dumouriez in Paris 295 

11 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XXIII PAGE 

Girondins and Jacobins — Louvet's Accusation of 
Robespierre 307 

CHAPTER XXIV 
Victory of Jemappes — Girondins Propose Opening of 
the Scheldt — Edmund Burke — England Joins Coali- 
tion — Danton Visits Belgium — Death of Danton's 
Wife 315 

CHAPTER XXV 
Finding of the Iron Chest — Louis Summoned to the 
Bar 326 

CHAPTER XXVI 
Trial of Louis XVI 334 

CHAPTER XXVII 
Execution of Louis XVI 343 

CHAPTER XXVIII 
Danton Opposes Factional Strife — The Treason of 
Dumouriez — Lasource Attacks Danton — The Reply 
of Danton 353 

CHAPTER XXIX 
Danton — Marat's Arrest and Triumph — Girondins — 
Charlotte Corday — Assassination of Marat — Execu- 
tion of Charlotte Corday — Marriage of Danton — 
Trial and Execution of Marie Antoinette 362 

CHAPTER XXX 
Trial and Execution of Girondins — Execution of 
Madame Roland, Philippe, d'Orleans, Barnave, 
Bailly — Dethronement of Religion — Danton Favors 

Reaction 385 

12 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XXXI PAGE 

Trial of the Dantonists 400 

CHAPTER XXXII 
Execution of the Dantonists 418 

CHAPTER XXXIII 
Danton — His Appearance — His Style of Dress — His 
Character — His Religious Belief — Was He Venal? 
— Politician — Statesman — Orator — His Short Polit- 
ical Career — Results of the French Revolution 423 



13 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

Danton. The original portrait in the possession of 
the family is said to have been painted by David 
Frontispiece 

House of the Danton Family at Arcis sur Aube 24 

Danton's Mother 36 

Camille Desmoulins 50 

Louis XVI. From an engraving by Bervic after the 
original portrait painted by Callet 60 

Marie Antoinette. From an engraving in the col- 
lection of William J. Latta, Esq., of Philadelphia, by 
whom it was kindly loaned for this work 72 

Marat. From an engraving in the collection of William 
J. Latta, Esq., of Philadelphia 80 

Madame Roland. From an engraving in the collec- 
tion of William J. Latta, Esq., of Philadelphia 180 

Princess de Lamballe 274 

Dr. Guillotin. From an engraving in the collection 
of William J. Latta, Esq., of Philadelphia 288 

Charlotte Corday. From an engraving in the col- 
lection of William J. Latta, Esq., of Philadelphia. 
After a portrait painted by David 374 

F AC -SIMILE OF A LETTER WRITTEN BY DANTON. The 

original is in the possession of William J. Latta, Esq., 
of Philadelphia, by whom it was kindly loaned for 

this work 438 

15 



DANTON 

AND 

THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

CHAPTER I 

MIRABEAU AND DANTON 

The death of Mirabeau marked the end of the 
first period of the French Revolution. 

He had struggled hard against heavy odds to 
effect a reaction to restore order and to save the 
monarchy, but he failed because he could not 
secure the confidence and the support of those 
whose cause he had espoused. When he passed 
away the proud empire of the Bourbons was 
doomed. The bells that tolled his death rang, at 
the same time, the knell of the monarchy. 

Even those who intimately knew him, and were 
in his confidence, did not comprehend how great 
was the work he had undertaken and with what 
marked ability he had carried it forward, not 
until some time after his death did they realize 
the fact that there was no one in France who 
could take up the task where he had laid it down. 

He had directed the Revolution. To him it had 
a purpose, which purpose was the correction of 
abuses, the restriction within constitutional limi- 
2 17 



DANTON 

tations of the absolute, the arbitrary power of 
the king, but not his deposition nor the destruc- 
tion of the throne. 

It surely must be admitted by all who have 
studied the Revolution, that the death of Mira- 
beau perceptibly gave it a new phase. He had 
been its manifestation. He had aided in the ac- 
complishment of all its purposes; its results, in a 
great measure, were due to his genius and his 
energy, but he had watched closely the trend of 
events and with a vision that was far-reaching, 
almost prophetic, he saw the impending calam- 
ities that were menacing not only the monarchy, 
but also the welfare, the integrity, the future 
interests of all France. He therefore strongly 
favored a reaction, and bent every effort towards 
staying the torrent whose flood-gates he had 
helped to open. 

When Mirabeau passed out of the Revolution, 
Danton stepped in. The great tribune was dead, 
and there strode forth a man with almost super- 
human power, who was to tear down and destroy 
that system which Mirabeau would fain have 
saved. Danton gave to the Revolution a fresh 
impulse, his courage and his audacity aroused 
the spirit of the radicals. From now until the 
execution of the king he was the master. " He 
rode in the whirlwind and directed the storm." 

At the time of Mirabeau's death France had 
lost every feature of a monarchy, save that a 
king still occupied the throne. The Revolution 
had leveled the walls of the Bastile, had given a 
declaration of rights and the form of a consti- 

i8 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

tution to France, had equalized taxation, had re- 
moved the burdens of feudalism, had abolished 
privileges and exemptions, had destroyed titles 
and distinctions, had introduced a system of 
economy in the public administration, had scat- 
tered the nobles, had confiscated the lands of the 
Church, had proscribed the non-juring priests, 
had brought the king as a captive from Versailles 
to Paris, and had put him and his queen in the 
humiliating position of being held as hostages 
for the good behavior of the emigrants. There 
was nothing left for the Revolution to accom- 
plish but the deposition of the king and the estab- 
lishment of a republic. It was to these tasks that 
Danton devoted himself in earnest. 

Had Mirabeau lived, a combat between him 
and Danton would most likely have taken place. 
These two Titans, it is reasonable to believe, had 
they not united their interests, would have grap- 
pled in a death struggle for the mastery, and 
no one can say with certainty what the outcome 
would have been. 

But on the other hand, they might have formed 
a combination that would have resulted in the 
establishment of a constitutional monarchy, for 
at this period of the Revolution, that is in the 
early part of 1791, Danton was not so violent 
in his views as he subsequently became. Mira- 
beau and Danton, although they differed radi- 
cally in their political principles, were reasonable, 
practical, politic, and patriotic, and it is not im- 
possible to believe that they might have united 
their efforts in a common purpose to stay the 

19 



DANTON 

Revolution and to make secure the reforms that 
had already been achieved. 

Danton had been loyal to the monarchy, he 
was naturally of that conservative class that ad- 
heres to existing conditions, and fears radical 
reforms and sudden violent changes. " He was," 
says Michelet, " of the middle class, the heart of 
the nation." " He was certainly," declares Gron- 
lund, " from the crown of his head to the sole 
of his foot a middle class man, but he was more 
than that,, he was a middle class man with a 
heart for the masses." He opposed, of course, 
the system that created exemptions and privi- 
leges to be monopolized and enjoyed only by the 
chosen few. He had no sympathy with the old 
regime and as a man of spirit and independence 
he chafed and fretted under the unjust class dis- 
tinctions that prevailed, but on the other hand he 
naturally favored law and order and dreaded that 
violence that suddenly and forcibly wrenches 
from their ancient foundations those customs, 
usages, and laws that have long obtained. His 
education, his social and professional position 
raised him far above the proletariat, and he had 
nothing in common with them except a desire to 
ameliorate their unhappy condition, but this 
amelioration he hoped to see effected gradually 
and without a shock or a violent convulsion. 

In the early stages of the Revolution he no 
more wished the destruction of the monarchy 
than Mirabeau. To use his own language, " I 
am more monarchist than you, M. de La Fay- 
ette." He was a reformer, a revolutionist of a 

20 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

positive type, to be sure, but he believed that a 
king was as necessary to government in France 
as in England. He looked askance at M. de 
Mirabeau ; he " had always from a long way off 
understood his brother in silk and with the 
sword," but really they were revolutionists of the 
same class, and the splendid talents of one united 
with the force and the superb audacity of the 
other might have avoided " The Terror." 

With Mirabeau out of the contest the court 
could find no substitute to take his place. The 
French monarchy without the guidance of wis- 
dom blindly groped its way through darkness to 
despair and finally plunged headlong to destruc- 
tion. Achilles was dead and there was no friend 
nor adviser of the king who had diplomacy 
enough to secure the aid and the loyalty of Dan- 
ton, the only man who could have stepped into 
the shoes and could have worn the mantle of the 
great tribune. Barnave, Duport and the La- 
meths, finding the Revolution getting beyond 
their control, undertook to divert and direct its 
course by attempting to apply the policies and to 
carry out the plans of Mirabeau, but they were 
in no way equal to the task. 



21 



CHAPTER II 

DANTON'S BIRTH ARCIS SUR AUBE POLITICAL, 

RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN FRANCE 

\ 

George Jacques Danton was born on the 26th 
day of October, 1759, at Arcis sur Aube, in the 
Champagne Pouilleuse, about seventeen miles 
north of Troyes and about one hundred miles 
from Paris. " His family, pure, honest, of prop- 
erty, industrious, ancient in name, honorable in 
manners . . . possessed a rural domain in 
the environs of that small town." 

Arcis sur Aube was settled at a very early 
period and is mentioned in the register called 
" Antonini Itinerarium," which gave the stations 
and the distances along the various roads of the 
Roman empire and which was based probably 
upon the surveys made by direction of Julius 
Caesar and continued by Augustus. It had no 
specially attractive feature except that an old pic- 
turesque castle situated upon a high bluff over- 
looked the town and was of historical interest, in 
that it was at one time the residence of Brune- 
haut, and at a later period was occupied by the 
celebrated Diana of Poitiers who had the honor 
of serving in turn Francis I and Henry II, father 
and son, as mistress. 

It was the principal market town and the chief 
22 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

commercial centre in that immediate locality, it 
possessed a fairly prosperous population and en- 
joyed the advantage of being close enough to the 
capital of the kingdom to keep in touch with the 
news and the events of the day. A beautiful 
church, of the sixteenth century, gave the place 
some architectural renown. 

In this country town Danton passed his early 
years, and it was a good school for the training 
of a boy who subsequently was to make Paris 
his home. In this provincial community he had 
an opportunity to watch the process of disinte- 
gration as revealed in the social and political Con- 
ditions that prevailed in the country or peasant 
districts, and to observe and note those gradual 
changes that are not so apparent in a populous 
or crowded city. 

The date of his birth fell in a very interesting 
historical period, one of the most important in 
the history of the human race, an era when men 
and events were preparing for " the most impas- 
sioned effort ever made for the attainment of 
public freedom." 

When Danton was born, Mirabeau had seen 
ten years of life ; Robespierre was a baby in arms ; 
Louis XVI was five, and Marie Antoinette four 
years old; Camille Desmoulins was to see the 
light of day in five months, and Napoleon in ten 
years. Louis XV was on the throne and had 
been reigning for forty-four years. He had six- 
teen years yet to rule and riot before being 
stricken by the fatal 'and loathsome disease that 
carried him off. Absolutism was in its full vigor, 

23 



DANTON 

although perhaps not so assertive as it had been 
under the prior reign when Louis XIV had de- 
clared that he was the State. Feudalism was im- 
bedded in the life, in the very flesh of the people ; 
its burdens were as grinding and as oppressive as 
they ever had been. 

King and noble were virtually not amenable to 
law, the privileged classes enjoying rights in con- 
travention of every principle of human justice. 

The glory and the splendor of Louis XIV, 
which in a measure had concealed the vices of his 
reign and had made some atonement for its 
tyranny, corruption, and extravagance, were but 
a memory, and in the shadow of the great Louis 
ruled a king who was without ambition, who shed 
no lustre, no personal renown upon his times, and 
whose luxury, sensuality, prodigality, and indif- 
ference to the public weal, were hastening the 
country to destruction and the monarchy to its 
ruin. The aggregate duration of the reigns of 
these two princes, Louis XIV and Louis XV, was 
one hundred and thirty-one years, something un- 
paralleled in history. It was most unfortunate 
for France that lives so long were vouchsafed to 
rulers so unworthy and so profligate. 

Only one-third of the landed property of the 
entire country was in the hands of the lay com- 
monalty, all the rest belonged to the Church and 
the nobles. The taxes too were so unequally dis- 
tributed that the largest of them, the Taille, yield- 
ing about 200,000,000 francs, fell almost wholly 
upon the peasantry, neither the Church nor the 
vast majority of the nobles paying one sou. The 
24 




< 
S3 

>< ft 

Ph c 

< to 

Q 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

privileged classes consisting of the nobility and 
the upper clergy numbered about 190,000 per- 
sons out of a population of twenty-five millions, 
and these few received and enjoyed all the bene- 
fits of government. 

Many of the nobility, because of some trivial 
service rendered to the king by their ancestors, 
were relieved entirely from taxation and besides 
this were extravagantly pensioned out of the pub- 
lic revenues. These drones actually consumed the 
substance of the poor. It was calculated that if 
an acre of land afforded seventy-five francs of 
gross produce, two-thirds went to the revenue, 
and after the landlord was paid the wretched 
farmer or cultivator received about one-half of 
the remaining third, or twelve and one-half 
francs. 

The social and political conditions of the lower 
classes were in a most deplorable state. Lan- 
guage cannot fully describe the real wretchedness 
that prevailed among the peasantry. Men, 
women and children went barefooted and were 
scantily clad, even in the dead of winter. They 
lived on black-bread and " slept on the mud of the 
cold clay floor," their homes were as comfortless, 
and often as filthy, as pig-sties. Wages were so 
low, and in consequence labor was so hard, that 
men were worn to the bone in earning a mere pit- 
tance; children were poorly nurtured and com- 
pelled to toil in their earliest years; women were 
haggard in feature and grew old long before 
they reached middle life, being obliged to perform 
the most servile labor, often actually being used 

25 



DANTON 

as beasts of burden. In some districts they were, 
like oxen, harnessed to the plough and driven to 
the cart. 

Agriculture had made no advance from the 
tenth century, its implements were rude and prim- 
itive in pattern and construction. The plough 
differed not a whit from that used in the days of 
Virgil. The peasant was virtually a serf, he was 
attached to the soil, he belonged body and soul 
to the lord of the manor. Although burdened 
with duties, he had but few if any rights. Under 
the infamous, iniquitous system of feudalism that 
existed, he was required to perform, in return for 
the use of his small strip of land, all sorts of 
menial and humiliating services, from the swish- 
ing of the pond to the loaning of his bride, from 
the patching of the public roads to the plough- 
ing of the lord's glebe. In an agricultural coun- 
try, herds of deer and droves of wild boars were 
permitted to go at large as in a savage wilder- 
ness, only to provide amusement for the great. 
When the royal game destroyed the crops of the 
peasant he had no redress, and if he dared to kill 
a rabbit or a quail he ran the risk, if the game- 
keeper caught him in the act, of paying forfeit 
with his life. If a fox crossed his land he might 
expect to see, at any moment, a pack of hounds 
followed by a hunting party of lords and ladies, 
who would ruthlessly dash across his recently 
ploughed field or trample down the growing vines 
in his vineyard. Yet this wretched creature 
meekly submitted to his lot, paid the bulk of tax- 
ation, and supported the glory of the empire. No 
26 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

wonder, when the time came and the devil was 
let loose in his heart, that he took vengeance with 
pike and torch! 

" The men are dying as thick as flies," wrote 
Argenson in the middle of the eighteenth cen- 
tury, " and the living are eating grass," and this 
condition continued with intervals of slight im- 
provement up to the date of the meeting of the 
States-General. The fields were bare, the high- 
ways were deserted, except by armies of tramps 
and vagrants, the inns were comfortless and 
without conveniences, there were few carriages 
or diligences traveling on the public roads, which 
roads were sadly out of repair. Famine was 
decimating the population. While the peasants 
were living on roots and the bark of trees, the 
aristocracy flaunted their wealth and extrava- 
gance in the faces of the poor. In the shadows 
of magnificent palaces and chateaux men literally 
starved to death. 

Notwithstanding the financial distress of the 
country the king abated not a jot of his luxury. 
He owned more palaces than he could occupy 
and the expenses of the royal household amounted 
to 250,000,000 francs annually. There were 300 
cooks in the kitchen and over 2,000 horses stand- 
ing in the stables. Nobles and also churchmen 
indulged in extravagances and excesses to such 
a degree that their conduct provoked the bitter 
hatred of the people and destroyed respect for 
authority and government and even reverence 
for holy things. 

A few years later than the period of which 
27 



DANTON 

we are speaking, the Cardinal de Rohan, a prince 
of the Church, the grand almoner of France who 
made religion a mockery, declared that it was 
impossible for him to live on an annual income 
of less than one million and a half. He indulged 
in such licentiousness that his example was most 
demoralizing and yet he was not, by any means, 
the only churchman who disgraced his calling. 
The Church, although possessed of nearly half 
the land in the kingdom and endowed with an 
immense revenue from tithes alone, assigned a 
miserable pittance of 500 francs a year to the 
parochial or working clergy; all the rest was con- 
sumed in luxurious living by an idle and a disso- 
lute hierarchy. The administration of the law 
was venal, was corrupt. The penal code in some of 
its features was inhuman, and the criminal courts 
were merciless in prosecuting and punishing 
those who were unable to temper the severity of 
the judges with gold. The penalties imposed for 
the slightest transgressions upon those who were 
not able to pay for exemptions were cruel and 
monstrous. The plaintiff obtained entrance to 
the court by bribery. Justice was a wanton to be 
won by favors. Arrests were arbitrarily made, 
and men were immured in dungeons without even 
the faintest form of trial. One prisoner was con- 
fined in the Bastile for thirty-five years, and at 
the time of his release there could be found no 
record of his commitment. 

A man merely suspected of a political offense 
would be seized under a lettre de cachet and 
would suddenly disappear from his usual haunts 
28 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

as if swallowed up by the earth. There was no 
uniform system of law throughout the kingdom; 
what was a crime in one district was not so con- 
sidered in another, and the whole system of 
judicature was in utter confusion. 

The cold-blooded insolence of the aristocracy 
created a consuming hatred in the hearts of the 
people, a hatred that was deep-seated and vindic- 
tive and that passed like a heritage from one gen- 
eration to another, until at last it cruelly avenged 
with blood the grinding wrongs and the galling 
tyranny of centuries. The sufferings of the poor 
did not call forth even the commiseration of the 
rich. The nobles looked upon the common people 
as hardly worthy of consideration. Madame de 
Stael at a later period, in speaking of Napoleon 
in this connection, said : " II regarde une crea- 
ture humaine comme un fait on an chose, et non 
comme an semblable." So the nobles of this 
period looked upon the common people as mere 
chattels, and they had no respect for their rights 
as fellow-men. In the reign of Louis XV the 
Count de Charolais amused himself by shooting 
men whom he had employed to work on the roof 
of his barn, and every time he picked a man off 
he laughed aloud as he saw his victim roll to the 
ground; his conduct was in the spirit of brutal 
wantonness. The matter was brought to the no- 
tice of the king who sent word to the count that if 
he repeated the offense, he would pardon anyone 
who killed him. But there was no arrest, nor 
prosecution of the count, the authorities allowed 
the matter to end here. What justice could the 

29 



DANTON 

people expect from such a monarch and under 
such a system? 

Most inhuman were the punishments inflicted 
upon those who assailed royalty. A man had 
written some satirical lines on the king's mis- 
tress. The agents of his majesty seized the cul- 
prit at the Hague and in violation of every prin- 
ciple of international law, carried him to France 
and cast him into a cell below the sea level of 
Mont St. Michel. Here he lived or rather ex- 
isted for eight years, in a stone hole in which he 
could neither stand upright nor lie down at full 
length, the cell being less than five feet long, but 
four feet wide, and three feet high. The sunlight 
penetrated the cavern only one hour during the 
entire day. In this hole he was attacked by rats 
and it was said that he sustained life by eating 
them. But in time he was so weakened by con- 
finement that he was unable to resist them and 
the hungry rodents at last began nibbling at his 
toes and soon he was devoured. 

Damiens, who assaulted the king and merely 
scratched his royal person, underwent a punish- 
ment so brutal that the heart sickens in the recital 
of its details. It was not much of a wound that 
was inflicted, it was not " so deep as a well nor 
so wide as a church door," but it was enough to 
bring down on the head of the culprit all the 
vengeance of the State. It might have been 
better for the poor wretch had he accomplished 
his purpose, for he could not have been tortured 
worse had he killed the king outright. 

The tyranny of a king is as much treason 
30 



,THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

against the sovereignty of the people as the re- 
bellion of the people is against the sovereignty of 
a king. It required a revolution to vitalize this 
thought and to bring tyrants and potentates to a 
sense of personal accountability. 

Superstition, bigotry, and intolerance, were on 
every hand. Religious persecution was relentless. 
Protestants or those who harbored them were 
punished remorselessly. One woman was sen- 
tenced to three years of imprisonment and sub- 
jected to a heavy fine simply because she spoke a 
kindly word to a dying heretic. A man was 
sent to the galleys for having so far forgotten 
his loyalty to the Church as to attend a Prot- 
estant service. A boy was arrested for having 
mutilated a crucifix. There was no proof that 
he had committed the offense, but it was shown, 
in the course of the trial, that he had read a 
book of Voltaire's. This was sufficient to con- 
trol the judgment of the court and the poor lad 
was tortured till his bones cracked and life was 
almost extinct. To complete the infamy, he was 
then decapitated and his head was set up on a 
post as a warning to the faithful not to stray from 
the paths of orthodoxy. 

Such were the conditions that prevailed at the 
time Danton first saw the light of day, and they 
grew but little better as he advanced towards 
manhood. These were the events that were brew- 
ing the Revolution and they explain why in its 
character it was so vindictive and retributive. 

Meanwhile society was undergoing a change 
and men were beginning to long and strive for 

31 



DANTON 

better things. General education was developing 
the human mind and opening the avenues to 
knowledge. The printing press was at work, 
people were thinking, reading, discussing. The 
Revolution was made by books, some one has well 
said. Michelet declares that when Voltaire and 
Rousseau, the apostles of humanity, passed away 
the revolution in the intellectual world was 
accomplished. 

Montesquieu's " Spirit of the Laws," appeared 
in 1748; its aphorisms, though trite to-day, were 
new and startling then, and aroused in the French 
heart a longing for a constitutional liberty under 
which the humblest citizen in the land would be 
as secure in the enjoyment of his rights as the 
king himself. 

Helvetius, whose great work "De 1'Esprit" 
was published in 1758, was a philosopher of the 
so-called sensuous school, a direct descendant of 
Epicurus. In his materialism he deprived man of 
all spirituality and brought him to the level of the 
brute. He taught that pleasure is the only good 
and self-interest the only consideration. In an 
age so corrupt his teachings exerted a great in- 
fluence and were congenial to a people and a 
court that could tolerate a Pompadour and a Du- 
Barry. 

At the time of Danton's birth, Voltaire was in 
the heyday of his power; and in the full vigor 
of his intellect he was satirizing the follies of the 
day and with his trenchant pen was attacking 
tyranny, injustice, superstition, bigotry, and in- 
tolerance. Never did a writer exert a greater 
32 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

influence upon his age. The vices of both Church 
and State were cowering beneath his merciless 
assaults. He was the philosopher of Iconoclasm 
and under his terrific blows the idols of the past 
were broken and shattered. 

Rousseau at this time was dreaming of his 
Utopia and arousing a sentiment in the hearts 
of men for a common brotherhood. He was an 
egoist and a morbid sentimentalist who professed 
a love for mankind, yet abandoned his own chil- 
dren. Voltaire had no cant, but Rousseau was 
full of it. About this time he was writing his 
" Contrat Social," " which preluded the doctrines 
of the Revolution " and which was to aid in de- 
stroying the influence, the power, and the priv- 
ileges of the old order. It contended that society 
was founded on convention and that all men un- 
der that original contract were equal before the 
law. The character of Danton was molded un- 
der the teachings of Voltaire, while Rousseau 
had no more devoted disciple, no one who was 
more a reflex of his sentiments than Robespierre. 

Diderot with his co-laborers was compiling the 
Encyclopedia, that great storehouse of informa- 
tion, and imbuing the thought of the nation with 
his wild ideas and theories of democracy. " Until 
a king is dragged to Tyburn," he declared, " with 
no more pomp than the meanest criminal, the 
people will have no conception of liberty. The 
law is nothing unless it be a sword suspended 
over our heads without distinction and leveling 
all who elevate themselves above the horizontal 
plane in which it circles." " Had there been no 
3 ZZ 



DANTON 

Diderot," says Lord Lytton, " there would have 
been no Marat." The Encyclopedia was a monu- 
ment of learning and the greatest thinkers of the 
day added their contributions to this remarkable 
work, writing upon the topics to which they had 
devoted their lives. No one can estimate the 
effect it produced on the public mind. It was of 
itself an inducement to revolution. It was the 
womb of sedition. 



34 



CHAPTER III 

HOME INFLUENCES OF DANTON — SCHOOL DAYS — 
THE CORONATION OF LOUIS XVI 

The influences that surrounded Danton's early 
home life were refining. His father, whose 
Christian name was Jacques, was a lawyer by pro- 
fession. He was prociircnr in the bailiwick of 
Arcis. It was his duty to present the cases and 
the accused to the local court, an office somewhat 
resembling that of prosecuting attorney in our 
day. The office was of no little importance and 
gave to the incumbent social quality and political 
distinction. His income was from ten thousand 
to ten thousand five hundred francs per year. An 
income that, if it did not furnish the luxuries of 
life, enabled him at least to live comfortably. He 
died in 1762 leaving two sons and two daughters. 
George Jacques at that time was two and a half 
years old. 

Danton's mother's name was Marie Madeleine 
and her family was of the class of skilled artisans, 
her social rank being somewhat below that of her 
husband, who as we have seen was of the pro- 
fessional class. Madame Danton after the death 
of her husband had means sufficient, by the exer- 
cise of strict economy, to retain the family home- 

35 



DANTON 

stead and to provide for the education of her 
children. About eight years after the death of 
M. Danton she married a cotton manufacturer 
named Jean Ricordain, who is said to have been 
a good husband to her and a kind father to her 
children. 

George Jacques was a robust, rollicking lad; 
mettlesome, high-spirited, somewhat rebellious, 
but most affectionate and generous. " He was," 
says Lamartine, " of an open, communicative dis- 
position and was beloved in spite of his ugliness 
and turbulence, for his ugliness was radiant with 
intellect and his turbulence was calmed and re- 
pented of at the least caress of his mother." The 
discipline of the town school was irksome to him 
and he chafed under its restraints and often when 
he should have been at his desk he was swim- 
ming in the Aube. 

Some writers have drawn the picture of his 
childhood in the darkest shades, but really the 
most careful research fails to find any substan- 
tial facts in the history of his early years to cor- 
roborate their exaggerated statements. One 
author goes even so far as to say that while a 
toddler he had the spirit of the devil in his little 
heart and had already started on the way to hell. 
Another calls him a monster in his infancy, stat- 
ing that he had a passion for gambling, was a 
truant from school and was " ducking from 
morning until night in the river and wrestling 
with the dogs and the pigs in the town gutters." 
These statements are made to form a ground- 
work for what his detractors call his subsequent 
36 



ma& 




Danton's Mother 

From an old print 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

career of crime, and thus to show that the boy 
was father to the man. 

No doubt he was like most active, healthy boys 
of his age, full of fun and frolic and with a spirit 
of adventure and insubordination; but that he 
was vicious or exceptionally bad is not and can- 
not be vouched for by any reliable authority. 
" He was," asserts. Lamartine, " rebellious against 
discipline, idle at study, beloved by his masters 
and fellow pupils; his rapid comprehension kept 
him on an equality with the most assiduous. His 
instinct sufficed without reflection. He learned 
nothing; he acquired all H's companions caned 
him Catiline; he accepted the name and some- 
times played with them at getting up rebellions 
and riots which he excited or calmed by his har- 
angues, as if he were rehearsing at school the 
characters of his after life." 

When quite young Danton was attacked by 
that dreadful scourge, smallpox, a disease that in 
those days ravaged every community and that 
completely baffled the skill of the medical pro- 
fession. It seems to have raged with special vio- 
lence in France and the public authorities adopted 
no precautionary measures that prevented the 
spread of this most spiteful epidemic. Many of 
the most distinguished men of that period were 
scarred with its venomous touch. 

Danton also had an encounter with a bull which 
resulted in giving him a hare lip. One story is 
that when he was a baby and while being suckled 
by a cow, a jealous bull interfered and gashed his 
face. Some years after, perhaps to avenge the 
37 



DANTON 

former assault made upon him, he had a personal 
encounter with the same beast and came out of 
the contest with triumph, but with a crushed nose. 
The injuries to the bull are not recorded. An- 
other story goes that he was badly tusked by a 
savage boar. 

Though these scars and wounds greatly in- 
creased his ugliness they appear to have added 
strength to his countenance. " In spite of all 
these misfortunes there was a commanding qual- 
ity and rugged charm about his face which gen- 
erally commended it to those with whom he came 
in contact." 

In the town school at Arcis he was taught the 
Latin elements and laid a good foundation for a 
subsequent classical education. After leaving 
this school he entered the lower seminary at 
Troyes, an institution under the direction of the 
Oratorians, a religious order that had the honor 
of training so many of the popular reformers 
who helped in the regeneration of France. Here 
Danton was grounded in Greek as well as in 
Latin and specially trained in the history and the 
philosophy of the ancients. This system of edu- 
cation had long obtained in France and natu- 
rally imbued in the hearts of the students a love 
for freedom, in accordance with Roman forms, 
and at the same time inspired an admiration for 
the principles of Roman democracy and the 
austere virtues of the old Roman citizen. There 
was no student in France under this course who 
was not impressed by the characteristics that 
had made the republic of Rome great. 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

The entire literature of the country also was 
affected by this system that made a special and 
patient study of the ancient writers. The drama 
especially, with its unities, was essentially 
classic. Desmoulins, the greatest journalist of 
the Revolution, was peculiarly a Latinist and 
possessed a style as concise and as incisive as 
that of Tacitus. 

The leading orators in the National Assembly 
formed their styles on Roman models and it 
was this very classicism that gave a peculiar and 
dignified charm to the oratory of that period. 
Their frequent quotations from the Latin authors 
show what a deep impression the literature of the 
ancients had made upon them. The oratory of 
Barnave, Vergniaud, and Isnard was especially 
Roman in style modeled on the majestic elo- 
quence of the forum, while the carefully written 
speeches of Robespierre reveal, in almost every 
line, the traces of his classical education. 

Hardly ever was there a speech made in the 
Assembly that the speaker did not indulge in 
classical allusions. The Capitol and the Tar- 
peian Rock were shaken from their foundations, 
while Caesar and Brutus were mustered into 
service upon every occasion. Of course this con- 
stant reference, in the debates, to the Greeks and 
the Romans became at times monotonous and 
subjected the stilted, bombastic orators of the 
second class to frequent ridicule, but the real 
orators controlled by a refined and scholarly 
taste enriched and adorned their speeches by apt 
quotations. 

39 



DANTON 

Even down to the days of the First Empire this 
classical spirit prevailed. The eagles of Napo- 
leon were snatched from the standard bearers of 
the great Caesar. France borrowed Justinian's 
code and upon it framed her own. In no other 
state of modern times, indeed, has the influence 
of Rome been felt to so marked a degree as in 
France and this is to be attributed, no doubt, 
to the curricula of her schools and colleges. 

Danton was an exception to the rule. His 
oratory was rough-hewn and forceful but with- 
out polish; it was characteristic of the man 
rather than of any school or of any age. The 
same thing may be said of Mirabeau. These two 
men were original, not imitative, and it never 
occurred to them to form their oratory upon any 
particular style. Their genius was not tram- 
meled nor circumscribed by any rules. 

During Danton's last term at the seminary of 
Troyes in the summer of 1775, when he was 
sixteen years of age, the coronation of Louis 
XVI took place. He made up his mind that he 
would witness this celebration for he was 
anxious to see how a king was made. He was 
yet to learn how to unmake one. He borrowed 
money from his schoolfellows sufficient to last 
him for the journey and without asking permis- 
sion from his teachers, he set out afoot and 
trudged across the country, a distance of seventy 
miles, to the ancient, historic cathedral town of 
Rheims. A stout, hearty lad accustomed to ex- 
ercise and the sports of the campus had little 
regard for the distance. To him, light-hearted 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

and gay, released from his studies, the journey 
was a delightful vacation and the truant was as 
merry as a lark. 

Rheims, about eighty miles northeast from 
Paris, is an ancient town, rich in historic asso- 
ciations. It was renowned as the place where 
the kings of France were crowned. The cathe- 
dral of Notre Dame, in which the coronations 
occurred, is most impressive in its architectural 
lines. Its fagade has been pronounced by those 
competent to judge as one of the most perfect 
masterpieces of the Middle Ages. The interior 
of the church is sombre and impressive in color, 
its 

" Storied windows richly dight, 
Casting a dim religious light/' 

create an atmosphere of reverence and pious 
devotion. It is adorned with tapestries, marbles, 
and paintings of inestimable worth, and con- 
tains some of the most valuable art treas- 
ures of the centuries. A long line of 
kings from the earliest days had been anointed, 
and consecrated within the walls of this sacred 
edifice. Clovis, after his victory at Soissons, is 
said to have been baptized on the spot where the 
cathedral stands. The kings of the second and 
third dynasties were anointed here with the 
sacred oil which a dove had brought from 
heaven. This pleasing legend was by the faith- 
ful implicitly believed and the oil was conse- 
quently guarded with the most pious care. Here 
Joan of Arc, holding the standard of France, 

41 



DANTON 

stood by the side of Charles VII when the 
diadem of his fathers was placed upon his 
brow. 

Louis XVI was crowned with no less pomp 
than his ancestors, the ceremony being unusu- 
ally magnificent. The time, the place, the splen- 
dor of the occasion u*kst have appealed to the 
poetic temperament of the boy visitor from 
Troyes. The grandeur and the glory dazzled his 
imagination; the excited, exultant throngs 
aroused his enthusiasm. 

Incense and music filled the air. Bishops, 
priests and nobles in their gorgeous robes and 
costumes gave resplendent beauty to the scene, 
but all this glory was monopolized by royalty, 
the nobility, and the hierarchy. The people had 
no place nor part in this magnificent pageant ex- 
cept as mere onlookers and claquers. 

Danton as a spirited, an independent lad may 
have felt rebellion rising in his heart. What rea- 
son was there, he probably asked, for all this 
power to be centred in a king who came to the 
throne by the mere accident of birth and whose 
authority to rule was founded on conquest and 
usurpation, and strengthened by centuries of mis- 
rule and tyranny? 

In imagination, had he looked back through 
the dim vista of ages, he could have seen a crowd 
of mighty kings marching in stately and solemn 
procession through the broad aisles and under 
the groined arches of this grand old cathedral, to 
be crowned, sceptred, and anointed. But what 
had they done for the uplifting of the human 

42 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

race? What had they accomplished in the mat- 
ter of the education, enlightenment and better- 
ment of their people? In many instances they 
as tyrants had misruled the state, had imposed 
burdens on the poor, and had granted privileges 
to the rich. They had debased the peasant and 
had exalted the noble; they had squandered the 
public revenues in personal extravagance; they 
had waged wars for the acquisition of territory 
to which they could lay no just claim, or for the 
gratification of mere selfish ambition. 

What had Danton, a child of the people, in 
common with such a system? What meaning 
was there to him in all this " boast of heraldry " 
and " pomp of power ? " How could such a 
ceremony as he witnessed arouse his ardor and 
enthusiasm except in so far as the future prom- 
ised better things? In this connection it was 
said that Louis XVI was more virtuous, more 
amiable and less selfish and ambitious than the 
majority of his ancestors had been, and that his 
reign would be a benefaction. No doubt, how- 
ever, carried away by the enthusiasm of the 
scene and the event, Danton's voice helped to 
swell the cry of " long live the king," that king 
whose life in the course of time he was to 
shorten. 

It is possible that Louis, while going to the 
church or returning therefrom, may have seen 
in the crowd the ugly scarred face of that lusty 
country lad who in seventeen years was to over- 
turn the throne and to vote the king's death. 
Their eyes may have met, but little could they 

43 



DANTON 

read the history of the future; it was fortunate 
for them both that it was a sealed book. 

Upon Danton's return to school he was given 
a slight punishment for his truancy. He was 
soon forgiven, however, and he not only amused 
his companions but also interested his teachers 
by giving descriptions ot the scenes he had wit- 
nessed. The feature of the ceremony which 
seemed to have impressed him the most was the 
liberating in the church, after the king had taken 
the oath, of a great number of birds. " Pretty 
liberty that," he said, " to flutter between four 
walls without a crumb to eat or a straw for a 
nest!" 



44 



CHAPTER IV 

DANTON CHOOSES LAW AS HIS PROFESSION 

COMES TO THE BAR MARRIES AVOCAT AUX 

CONSEILS DU ROI HIS STUDIES CAMILLE 

DESMOULINS 

Danton left the Seminary of Troyes in 1775 
when he was sixteen years of age. From this 
time until 1780 but little is known of his life or 
occupations. He had an uncle in the priesthood 
living at Barberey who intended to have him enter 
the Church, but he strongly objected to this plan 
and after a family consultation on the matter, as 
was usual in those days, it was decided that he 
should adopt the law as his profession. The 
Church lost a jolly priest and a robust defender. 

In his twenty-first year, in 1780, he was ap- 
prenticed to a solicitor in Paris named Vinot. 
Under this preceptor, he served as a clerk for 
four years, and became familiar with the prac- 
tice of the courts. 

In 1785 he came to the bar; he was registered 
at Rheims but immediately returned to Paris 
where he began his professional career. At this 
time he was described as being robust, eloquent, 
and very industrious; he loved a joke, had a 
hearty contagious laugh, was a good companion, 
and enjoyed the pleasures of the table, He 

45 



DANTON 

swore stoutly, but his oaths were used for em- 
phasis rather than in sheer vulgar profanity. 
Riouffe, referring to him at a later period, says 
every sentence he spoke in the Conciergerie was 
interlarded with oaths and obscene expressions; 
yet the same writer records sentences that were 
noble and lofty in thought and absolutely free 
from such disfigurement. 

He was not an idealist nor a dreamer; he was 
practical in every sense of the word, and sought 
substantial results. He consequently made rapid 
progress in his profession. One of his first 
cases after coming to the bar was a suit arising 
out of a contention between a shepherd and his 
lord. The young advocate won the cause as 
counsel for the shepherd by a strong argument 
and an eloquent appeal. 

In manner Danton was independent and some- 
what arrogant towards those whom he did not 
respect. In conversation with one of his old 
teachers he is said to have denounced the servile, 
obsequious conduct of the lawyers who paid court 
to the solicitors and the judges. " As for me," 
he said, " barbarian that I am, I confess I can- 
not put up with all these servilities of civiliza- 
tion. By temperament I am unable to indulge 
in such sycophancy, I am stifled by such an at- 
mosphere. My lungs need a purer air to 
breathe." At this time his step-father, M. Ri- 
cordain, became involved financially and Danton 
in the generosity of his nature gave all he had 
to relieve the family from its embarrassment. 

After practicing in the lower courts for two 
46 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

years he became one of the " Avocats aux C out- 
sells du Roi," who were seventy-three in number 
and permitted to practice in the Court of 
Chancery. To attain this grade, recognized as 
the highest in the profession, a rigid examination 
was required, after a specified term of practice as 
attorney at the bar. It also required the payment 
of a considerable sum of money. It was in the 
nature of a purchasable office and brought dis- 
tinction and opportunity. Just before his ad- 
mission to practice in the Court of Chancery he 
married Antoinette Gabrielle Charpentier, the 
daughter of the proprietor of the Cafe de 
l'ficole, a students' restaurant in the district of 
the Cordeliers. The marriage was a union of 
love. The bride's parents gave her a dowry or 
dot of 20,000 francs. It was with this money 
that his wife brought him, together with what 
he had saved and inherited, that he bought the 
office of " Avocat aux Conseils du Roi/' for sev- 
enty-eight thousand livres. 

He had risen rapidly in his profession and his 
income is said to have been about 25,000 francs 
per annum, no mean income in those days for 
a lawyer of only two years' standing at the bar. 
He was now brought into communication with 
government officials, the leading solicitors and 
many representatives of the nobility and the 
upper classes. It is said that at this period of 
his life he changed his name to D'Anton, an 
affectation, if this be true, that seems inconsist- 
ent with his natural independence. Among his 
clients were DeBarentin, the minister of justice, 

47 



DANTON 

and DeBrienne, the comptroller-general. The 
former offered him the office of Secretary of 
Seals, which offer he twice refused, declaring 
£JgZ± he could not accept the post under prevailing 
conditions for the period was one that required 
not modest but radical reforms, for now he 
added : " We are at the dawn of a revolution.'* 

Several of his written opinions given in im- 
portant cases show a considerable knowledge of 
the law for a man of his years and experience, 
and reveal as well a remarkable power of close 
logical analysis. Had he devoted himself ex- 
clusively to his profession there is every reason 
to believe, judging from what he had accom- 
plished in so short a time, that he would have 
made a great lawyer and would have ranked 
among the first advocates of France. But the 
law is a jealous mistress and she demands the 
undivided attention and devotion of her suitor, 
and the all-important questions of politics were 
soon to divert and occupy his mind. 

Danton had not confined himself to the study 
of the law alone, for his reading took in a much 
wider range. When Madame Roland called 
him illiterate she was either ignorant of the 
facts, or prejudiced in her judgment. 

He had acquired a knowledge of the English 
and Italian tongues and if he did not speak them 
fluently he read them with ease. He was a fair 
Greek and a good Latin scholar. Upon the oc- 
casion of his admission to practice in the Court 
of Chancery he was required to deliver a Latin 
oration, the subject of which was " The Moral 
48 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

and the Political Situation of the Country, in 
their Relations with the Administration of Jus- 
tice." He acquitted himself with credit and his 
paper elicited the warm commendation of the 
judges. 

He had studied carefully the Encyclopedia, 
that vast storehouse of general information, — a 
liberal education in itself. He had read Adam 
Smith's "Wealth of Nations " in the original and 
was familiar with Shakespeare and Boccaccio in 
their own tongues. His library consisted of 
about two hundred volumes, valued at 2,500 
francs. In his collection were to be found the 
works of Shakespeare, Addison, Pope, Dr. John- 
son, Venuti, Guicciardini, Boccaccio, Ariosto 
and Metastasio, besides the standard French 
classics. Strange to say the works of Dante 
and Milton were not found in his collection. It 
is said by some authors, however, that he was 
familiar with the writings of these two great 
masters. Their sublimity of style and thought 
must necessarily have appealed to the fervid im- 
agination of such a man as Danton. 

In view of his education and his subsequent 
study and reading, to call him illiterate is to do 
him a grave injustice. 

We have brought his life down to 1787, two 

years before the meeting of the States-General. 

He was now twenty-eight years of age, in the 

full vigor of a healthy manhood, and has been 

described as a Hercules " needing a well turned 

down collar in which to move his bull neck, his 

bodily figure stately as well as massive, and more 
4 49 



1 



DANTON 

careful in his dress than has been generally 
thought. His voice is powerful and his gestures 
are bold. He is hot-tempered — easily moved to 
anger, terrible to an adversary, but easy also to 
conciliate." 

He was living happily with his wife whom he 
loved constantly and devotedly. His practice 
was growing and he had for clients some of the 
richest and most influential men in Paris. His 
income was sufficient for his family wants and 
enabled him besides to invite occasionally a few 
choice friends to his table, for he was of a most 
sociable disposition and loved to chat and linger, 
far into the night, over a bottle of good wine. 
Madame Roland in speaking of Danton said that 
he was, at this time, " a wretched advocate more 
burdened with debts than with cases, whose wife 
said she could not have kept house without the 
help of a guinea a week from her father." This 
is evidently not true, for he was in receipt of a 
very comfortable income and far removed from 
the stress of want. He enjoyed a fair share of 
the good things of life. His intimate friends 
were Petion, Brune and Camille Desmoulins. 
For the last named he had a deep affection which 
was never broken, and only ended when they 
went to their death on the scaffold hand in hand. 
" Thou poor Camille, say of thee what they may, 
it were but falsehood to pretend one did not al- 
most love thee, thou headlong lightly-sparkling 
man." He has been well described as " the 
flower that grew on Danton." 

B. Camille Desmoulins was born in Picardy in 
50 



- 



^ 




mBHsm 



Camille Desmoulins 
From an old print 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

1760. His father was the lieutenant-general of 
the bailiwick of Guise. He received a liberal 
education and by training was a lawyer, but at 
the beginning of the Revolution adopted jour- 
nalism as his profession and rose at once to dis- 
tinction. " As a writer," says Carlyle, " there 
is nothing French that we have heard of superior 
or equal to him for these fifty years." He was 
swarthy in complexion and not very prepossess- 
ing in appearance, but he was of an ardent and 
enthusiastic nature, as tender and affectionate in 
heart as a child, and of a most emotional tem- 
perament. His love for his wife was one of the 
romances of the Revolution. Lucile's nature 
was sweet and lovable and her " gentle figure 
moves through the blood-red pool of misery of 
the Reign of Terror as the pale ghost of Fran- 
cesca da Rimini through the darkness of Dante's 
Inferno." When Camille was arrested she 
haunted the prison and begged to share his fate. 
Ten days after his execution she went to the 
scaffold and exhibited far more courage and 
firmness than her husband. Her gospel of life 
was expressed in her simple verse: 

"Ma science et mon systcme, 
Et mes projcts ct mes desirs. 
Mes plus grands faits, mes doux plaisirs, 
Tout se reduit a ce mot: J'aime! " 

Camille early espoused the popular cause and 
not only reached prominence but rose almost im- 
mediately to leadership; he "has a place of his 
5i 



DANTON 

own in the history of the Revolution; there are 
not many notabler persons in it than he." 

In July, 1789, in the garden of the Palais 
Royal, with a brace of pistols in his hands, he 
harangued the people, summoned them to arms, 
and urged the attack upon the Bastile. It was 
from this time that he called himself " the first 
apostle of Liberty." He afterwards assumed 
the appellation " Procureur-General de la Lan- 
terne " — Attorney-General of the Lamp-post. 
One of his favorite assertions was : " Society 
is divided into two classes— gentlemen and sans- 
culottes, and to make the Revolution a success 
or to establish the Republic, it is necessary to 
take the purses of the one and to put arms into 
the hands of the other." What St. Just was to 
Robespierre, Camille was to Danton. 

It is to his eternal honor that he suffered death 
because he favored and advocated a policy of 
clemency and belonged to the faction of mercy. 



52 



CHAPTER V 

CONDITIONS IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE REVO- 
LUTION REVEILLON AFFAIR LOUIS XVI 

HIS MINISTERS HIS HABITS HIS CHARACTER 

At this time, 1787, the political condition of 
France was most unsettled. A spirit of discon- 
tent was present everywhere, among all classes 
of people. The finances were in a frightful 
welter. The ministers as a rule were incapable 
and apparently had no real conception of the 
dangers that menaced the future. 

Louis XV and his harlots had disappeared 
long ago, but they had left behind them a train 
of misfortunes that threatened the destruction 
of the State and a burden of debt that had well- 
nigh bankrupted the treasury. He had squan- 
dered upon his pimps and favorites 500,000,000 
francs, which amount was not even named in the 
public accounts, and he bequeathed to his heir a 
debt of 4,000,000,000 livres. After the death 
of this dissolute and voluptuous prince reforms 
were promised and attempted, but the extrava- 
gance continued and there was no material re- 
duction in the deficit. The Notables had been 
summoned twice, but having accomplished noth- 
ing in the way of relief there was a general de- 
mand for the convocation of the States-General. 

53 



DANTON 

A succession of fatalities greatly augmented the 
troubles. 

During the spring and summer of 1788, a se- 
vere drought prevailed, which seriously damaged 
the crops, and in addition to this disaster just on 
the eve of harvest a hail storm devastated the 
region around Paris from Normandy to Cham- 
pagne, a distance of sixty leagues. Winter closed 
in earlier than usual and was of great severity, 
being the coldest season since 1709, the ther- 
mometer reaching i8j4° below zero. In De- 
cember the Seine was frozen over from Paris to 
Havre. The suffering of the poor was dreadful, 
food and fuel were scarce and dear. In the 
spring of 1789 there was a general famine and 
the people were clamoring for bread. So small 
was the supply of grain that the government was 
compelled to order the cutting of 250,000 bushels 
of rye before the harvest season to feed the 
troops. 

The bread sold by the bakers was dark in color 
and musty or earthy in taste, and not only this, it 
was so scarce in quantity that the portion sold 
to each customer had to be limited. 

The people in the slums began to break into 
the bread and meat shops and to help themselves. 
Thus even before the Revolution the mob was 
trained in the tactics of riot and revolt. It was 
rumored in the sections of Paris that Reveillon, 
a manufacturer of wall paper in the faubourg 
St. Antoine had said that a working man with 
wife and children could live on fifteen sous a day. 
The story was false ; he was self-made, had risen 
54 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

from the ranks of the people, was kindly, gener- 
ous, and benevolent and even in dull times had 
kept his men employed. But the mob was in an 
ugly mood, would listen to no explanation, and 
in a blind fury destroyed not only the factory of 
Reveillon but also his residence. He was com- 
pelled to seek safety in the Bastile, that was so 
soon to fall, and from the windows of that 
gloomy fortress he witnessed the sacking of his 
home. The rioters found some wine in the cel- 
lar and their intoxication only increased their 
ferocity; they also discovered a number of 
bottles filled with a poisonous preparation used 
in the manufacture of the wall paper, and those 
who drank this liquid were soon writhing in the 
agonies of death. The whole section was in a 
tumult when the troops arrived and a fierce con- 
flict took place before the mob was dispersed. 

The slums were seething with riot, crowds of 
hungry men and women paraded through the 
streets, and Paris made ready for the Revolu- 
tion. Ladies and gentlemen returning from the 
races were compelled to alight from their car- 
riages and pay obeisance to the rabble. The 
destruction of Reveillon's factory was the prelude 
to the Revolution. 

Now that the Revolution is advancing, and 
having witnessed the first act in the drama, it will 
be useful for us to see what manner of man the 
king is who stands facing the tempest, for much 
will depend upon the pilot if the ship is to 
weather the storm. 

Louis XVI had not come up to the expecta- 
55 



DANTON 

tions of the people. At the time of his corona- 
tion the future was full of promise, but all the 
hopes of the people had turned to bitter disap- 
pointments. 

Madame Roland in her ecstasy wrote at the 
beginning of his reign : " The ministers are en- 
lightened and well disposed, the young king is 
docile and eager for good, the queen amiable and 
beneficent, the court respectable, the people are 
obedient, the kingdom is full of resources. Oh, 
but we are going to be happy ! " Even the 
shrewd and far-seeing Talleyrand came out of 
his cynical mood and, carried away by the gen- 
eral enthusiasm, predicted a glorious era; but 
" never did so bright a spring precede so stormy 
an autumn, so dismal a winter." 

When Louis XVI came to the throne his first 
minister was Maurepas, an old courtier, stiff, 
precise, and narrow, who was without talent 
and had no just comprehension of the spirit of 
the nation or the genius of the times. A quarrel 
between him and Marie Antoinette resulted in 
his dismissal. Thus early it is seen that the 
queen exerted her sinister influence in public 
matters over her royal spouse. 

Turgot, the ablest minister of that period, was 
too austere in his methods to suit the nobility, 
who were loath to abate any of the abuses that 
were sapping the strength, the vitality of the 
nation, and so they began to conspire for his 
overthrow. Besides this opposition, he soon fell 
under the displeasure of the king and the queen, 
because he was brave enough to insist upon ap- 
56 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

plying healing but drastic remedies to the cor- 
rupt and diseased body politic. His peremptory 
dismissal dispelled the last hope of reform and 
the conservative patriotic men of the nation stood 
aghast as they looked out into the future. 

Malesherbes, a lawyer of prominence, a states- 
man of ability, and a man of the loftiest charac- 
ter, was called to the cabinet. He boldly adopted 
the policy of Turgot and in consequence was soon 
requested to surrender his portfolio. 

Necker tried his hand at unraveling the tangle, 
but accomplished nothing, because he received 
no support from the court. Fleury and D'Orm- 
esson tested their skill at administering the fi- 
nances but both fell by the way. 

Calonne, surnamed the necromancer, brilliant, 
sanguine, of ready invention, with the tricks and 
the qualities of a mountebank rather than the 
wisdom and the judgment of a statesman, bor- 
rowed in every direction as if there was to be 
no day of final settlement, increased thereby the 
annual deficit, and plunged the State further 
into bankruptcy. His policy was that of the 
spendthrift whose only solution for every finan- 
cial crisis is to borrow. Since the retirement 
of Necker he had added 1,646,000,000 francs to 
the public debt. It was during his administra- 
tion that sums so vast were squandered on 
Trianon, that St. Cloud was purchased for the 
queen, and that Louis was induced to buy, at an 
exorbitant figure, the palace of Rambouillet. 
The courtiers, like an army of beggars, flocked 
around this genial and generous minister who 

57 



DANTON 

cast upon them showers of gold. Gifts, per- 
quisites, pensions were lavished on every hand. 
He paid the debts of royal prodigals and honored 
the most unreasonable demands. His career 
ended in disgrace and he went into exile amidst 
the execrations of the very profligates who had 
been the recipients of his bounty and had joined 
with him in depleting the treasury. 

Lomenie de Brienne, Archbishop of Toulouse, 
who had long sought political preferment but 
whose ambition for the ministry was greater 
than his capacity to fill it, bungled and stumbled 
along until the Revolution overtook him. Be- 
fore his retirement he secured an additional Arch- 
bishopric and a Cardinal's hat. At his request 
Necker was re-called, who upon assuming charge 
of the office found in the treasury chest only 250, 
000 francs. Minister after minister had been 
summoned to the side of Louis, but they did 
not materially decrease the expenditures nor in- 
crease the revenues, and the country staggering 
under its load of debt was fast approaching a 
crisis. 

Louis XVI was without practical and political 
wisdom. He was utterly incapable as a ruler; 
in every way inefficient. He was a king only in 
name. He had no policy of administration, no 
definite purpose of reform. His cruel execution 
has created a sympathy for him in the hearts of 
men and his submissive spirit and dignified de- 
meanor in the face of death have induced some 
of his admirers to place his name high on the roll 
of martyrs. The truth is that he had few of 
58 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

the qualities that command respect. He lost his 
crown without ever making a bold effort to save 
it. He was worthy neither the devotion of his 
friends nor the confidence of his people. He 
inspired neither enthusiasm nor loyalty. 

When a boy he was a butt for the indecent 
raillery of Louis XV, the old voluptuary often 
expressing for him a supreme contempt. The 
courtiers tittered at the remarks and the criti- 
cisms of the king, fearing, of course to laugh 
aloud lest their conduct should be remembered 
by the young prince, if he should ever come to 
the throne. They need not have exercised any 
prudence for he so lacked spirit that he neither 
resented the remarks of the king nor would he 
have remembered the insults of the courtiers. 

He was designated " un imbecile," " un bete," 
" a mass of insensible flesh," " the big fat pig." 
Madame DuBarry called him " that fat ill-man- 
nered boy." 

In person he was short, being five feet, five 
inches in height. His face was fat and puffy, 
with a retreating forehead and a weak chin. 
His near-sighted eyes did not light up even in 
conversation. He was without strong emotions 
and seldom displayed any animation. Barere in 
his Memoirs says : " His physical structure was 
large and common looking, he had pale blue 
eyes without the slightest expression, and a loud 
laugh that savored of imbecility. His carriage 
was most awkward and his whole appearance 
was that of a badly brought up rustic." 

He was untidy in his dress, he had but few 
59 



DANTON 

traits of gentle birth. He had not the bearing 
nor the dignity of a king. If he had not been 
born in a palace he would not have graced even 
a hovel. 

. The portrait painted by Callet and engraved 
by Bervic, showing him in his coronation robes, 
gives no accurate conception of his real person- 
ality. The artist idealized the king, but even 
then, the face is without force and dignity; it 
reveals no strength of character. 

He was boorish in his manner and indulged 
in vulgar practical jokes and silly amusements. 

When nineteen years of age he was seen chas- 
ing and tickling with a straw, a servant who was 
carrying through the halls of the palace an arm- 
ful of clothes. He was cruel in disposition and 
is said to have amused himself by spitting and 
roasting live cats. This seems hardly credible, 
but Gouverneur Morris notes in his diary, that 
he conversed with Madame Flahaut upon this 
matter and told her that he could not believe such 
stories, but she said they were true and that the 
king was both brutal and nasty. 

One day while strolling in the gardens of the 
Tuileries he was approached by a lady with a 
little spaniel. The dog ran up to the king but 
before its mistress could call it back, the king, 
who had a heavy walking stick, struck the dog 
with such force that he broke its back as well as 
the lady's heart. The dog howled and the lady 
screamed, but the king strutted off as if proud of 
his prowess and " laughing like any lout of a 
60 




I 



Louis XVI 

From an engraving by Bervic after the original portrait 

painted by Callet 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

peasant." " His laugh was loud and coarse," 
says Thiebault, " and more like that of a tipsy 
farmer than of a monarch." He was too clumsy 
to dance and took no part in the pleasures and 
amusements of the court. He was fond of the 
chase but when he was not hunting he was draw- 
ing maps and tinkering at door locks. 

He was a glutton. " Do not overload your 
stomach," exclaimed Louis~~XV, fearing that his 
grandson would fall into convulsions at the 
table. " Why not," was the reply, " I always 
sleep best after a hearty meal." This was upon 
the occasion of his wedding feast. Instead of 
paying court and attention to his young bride, 
he was gorging himself with food, until the old 
king was afraid he was going to lose his successor 
to the throne. 

After the feast he accompanied Marie An- 
toinette to her chamber, bade her good night 
without even kissing her and retired to his own 
room to sleep off the effects of the meal, which 
he had washed down with flagons of wine, for he 
was a doughty drinker as well as eater. 

He kept a diary and on May 16th he wrote: 
" My wedding — a party in the gallery. Royal 
banquet at the theatre." The last entry in that 
month reads : " I have had the stomach ache." 
He evidently had not taken the advice of the 
king. 

" He ate like a pig," writes Barere, " and 
drank like a fish; he scarcely ever left the table 
without being a little unsteady." Jefferson in a 
61 



DANTON 

letter to Jay wrote : " The king hunts one half 
the day, is drunk the other. . . . The king 
goes for nothing." 

He had not the qualities that go to make a 
jolly good king, fond of feast and revel. He took 
no delight in the real pleasures of the table. He 
was too reserved, stolid and stupid to enjoy the 
spirited conversation of merry companions. 
There was nothing for him " in the feast of 
reason and the flow of soul " ; he had no sense of 
wit and humor. He could not recount a good 
story nor could he appreciate the telling of one. 
He ate and drank alone, choice fellowship added 
no zest to his appetite. After he gorged his 
food and gulped his wine, he dozed, he slept. 

He seemed to be always hungry and under all 
conditions was ready to eat. No dangers nor 
crises could affect or moderate his appetite. 

Baron Thiebault states in his Memoirs, that 
on the morning of the royal family's flight from 
Paris, Louis went into a roadside inn, and spent 
upwards of an hour lingering over his breakfast. 
Whether or not this be true it is hard to say, 
for it seems almost impossible to believe that 
under the circumstances, he would have taken 
such a risk, but there must have been a rumor 
to that effect, for Miss Miles in a letter to her 
father, the British agent, wrote, " If the king 
had not stopped to eat cutlets he would have 
escaped." When detained at Varennes where he 
had been intercepted in his attempted flight from 
France, he drank his wine with gusto, smacked 
62 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

his lips and declared it was the best bottle of 
Burgundy he had ever tasted. 

After he returned to Paris from Varennes, 
when he reached the Tuileries, he sank into a 
chair and according to a statement made by 
Desmoulins exclaimed : " It's devilish hot," and 
seeing a valet at this moment passing through 
the room, he hailed him in a loud voice. " Ah ! 
there you are and here I am, bring me a chicken." 

After he had taken refuge in the Assembly on 
the ioth of August and while the mob was at- 
tacking the Tuileries, he sucked an orange. He 
ate his meals during his detention in the loge 
with so much relish that the deputies sneered and 
the queen was greatly humiliated by his conduct. 
While the Swiss were bravely fighting in de- 
fense of his palace, he was asking for food. 
"He eats while we die for him." 

It is not, however, unusual for a king to be 
indifferent to the sacrifices made by his subjects 
and Louis does not stand alone in this particular. 
The story is told that Frederick the Great when 
some of his troops were breaking in battle 
dashed himself against the retreating column and 
drove them back into line. " Damn you," he 
cried, " do you want to live always? " Napoleon 
addressing his army on the eve of a conflict 
said, " Soldiers : I need your lives and you owe 
them to me." 

Madame Campan relates, in her Memoirs, that 
on the morning of the 6th of October, 1789, 
when the mob of women stormed the palace at 
63 



DANTON 

Versailles, two soldiers of the Body Guard, Mio- 
mandre de Sainte-Marie and Bernard du Repaire, 
at the peril of their lives, saved the queen from 
assassination. They were severely wounded at 
the time, and one day during their convalescence, 
while out for a stroll, they went into the gardens 
of the Palais Royal. They were immediately rec- 
ognized and insulted, and at once withdrew to 
a place of safety. After this incident, advised 
by their friends to leave Paris, they made ar- 
rangements to quit the city. The queen hear- 
ing of their anticipated departure, sent for them 
to come to the palace. Graciously and with a 
heart full of generosity, she thanked and com- 
plimented them for their chivalry and gave them 
a present substantial in amount and sufficient 
to pay their expenses while away. The king was 
informed of the interview, came into the room, 
simply accosted the soldiers and then leaned his 
back against the mantel-piece. Not a syllable 
of commendation, no generous, kindly word 
passed his lips. He did not even take by the 
hand and cordially greet the men who had saved 
the life of his queen. After remaining a short 
time he left the room without even saying good- 
by. Madame Campan, to make some excuse for 
his conduct, says his eyes were suffused with 
tears. The queen because of his seeming indif- 
ference was deeply humiliated. 

Louis was not a student nor did he keep him- 
self well informed on current events and politi- 
cal conditions. He did not possess the first at- 
tribute of statesmanship. 
64 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

He was a king but without the qualities of 
a ruler. He had none of the graces that please 
and none of the arts that win the people. He 
was without force and decision and so vacillat- 
ing, that his promise could not be depended upon 
over night. His brother defined the character 
of his mind " in the simile of the oiled billiard 
balls which no one could hold steadily together." 

He was obstinate when he should have 
yielded, he was weak when he should have been 
strong and strong when he should have been 
weak. His opinion and judgment at the council 
table were not worth considering. He seldom, 
if ever, had any well-timed suggestions to offer. 

In the language of St. Just he was " brusque 
et faible, pare ecu il pensait le hi en, il croyait le 
faire . . . il voyait de sangfroid toute sa 
cour piller sa finance on plutot ne voyait rien" 

Louis inherited the Revolution from his ances- 
tors. He would have been a pliable, an easy-going 
ruler if his reign had fallen in peaceful times. 
He would willingly have left the government to 
others, better able to rule, and would have found 
amusement in the chase and in the construction 
of clumsy locks. For a revolution he was about 
the last man in all the kingdom fitted to cope 
with its violence. It must too be borne in mind 
that the French Revolution was the great, all 
powerful political event of modern times. So 
in every aspect of the case Louis was entirely out 
of place. " Of all the monarchs of the Capetian 
line he was the least able to stem, and yet the 
least likely to provoke a revolution." 
5 6s 



DANTON 

Such was the king who sat upon the throne of 
France when the nation was overwhelmed with 
debt and the monarchy threatened with destruc- 
tion. At a time when a man of ability should 
have been at the head of the government, when 
the qualities of a statesman, of a politician, and 
of a diplomat were required to meet conditions, 
a weak, a vacillating, an impassive man without 
judgment, invention and purpose, was the ruler 
of the nation. 

Dumont says : " We may reason ad infinitum 
upon the causes of the Revolution, but in my 
mind, there is only one dominant and efficient 
cause — the weakness of the king. Had a firm 
and decided prince been in the place of Louis 
XVI the Revolution would not have happened. 
. . . There is not a single period during the 
existence of the first Assembly, when the king 
could not have re-established his authority and 
framed a mixed constitution much stronger and 
more solid than the old parliamentary and no- 
biliary monarchy of France. His weakness, his 
indecision, his half measures and half councils, 
and more particularly his want of foresight, led 
to the catastrophe." 

Unquestionably, even after the period of the 
first Assembly or States-General, had he acted 
with vigor, at several points of his reign, he 
could have saved his crown, and directed his em- 
pire out of the torrent of the Revolution into 
peaceful channels. 

It was a long while before the nation became 
anti-monarchical. When the States-General met 
66 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

in 1789, no one in all France thought it would 
accomplish more than relieve the financial condi- 
tion and perhaps enact a few measures of reform. 
The most sanguine reformer never thought that 
feudalism would be abolished and the king de- 
throned. Nothing seemed so remote. In fact 
the people at that time were in favor of the 
monarchy. "Even in February, 1791," Miche- 
let declares, " Marat still remained a royalist." 

But Louis allowed the Revolution to creep 
upon him by degrees and at no moment when he 
could have saved his throne, and could have won 
popular favor, did he act with that courage and 
decision which the contingencies required. 

When, at the time of the meeting of the States- 
General, he ordered the delegates of the Third 
Estate to retire, and was defied by Mirabeau, he 
ought to have followed up his order by force and 
compelled obedience even at the point of the bay- 
onet. If he was not prepared to enforce his 
command, he ought not to have given it. This 
was one of the decisive points in the Revolution, 
perhaps the turning point. The people had seen 
their representatives defy the royal authority, re- 
buke and dismiss the king's messenger, and send 
him back to his majesty with an impudent an- 
swer, and to crown all, they witnessed the com- 
placent submission, the abject surrender of the 
king. 

There was a time not very long before the 
period of which we are speaking, when Louis 
XIV swore that " he would have no more of 
these cringing assemblies," and this he declared 

67 



DANTON 

to the parliament booted and whip in hand. 
But these days had gone by, and it is doubtful 
whether or not, at this time, even Louis the 
Great would have dared to enter the hall of 
the States-General in such a mood, but that he 
would have made every effort to enforce his 
orders and to save his throne goes without say- 
ing. 

To be sure there was a vast difference be- 
tween Louis XIV and Louis XVI. The former 
possessed all the arts of kingcraft and the au- 
dacious confidence of a Bourbon of the ancient 
regime. No king ever played his role with more 
consummate skill. His very word was law, his 
look awed into submission. While strolling 
or rather strutting through the gardens of the 
palace at Versailles, as was his daily custom, he 
would suddenly stop, and with head thrown back 
and chest thrown out, his right arm extended, 
leaning on a long staff, his eyes would sweep 
slowly over the crowd of courtiers in attendance, 
who bowing with looks cast to the ground, would 
not dare to meet the proud and searching gaze 
of his majesty, whom they worshiped almost 
as a god in human form. No king, even of the 
Bourbon line, ever received homage so obsequi- 
ous nor was more absolute in power. It seems 
strange that so great a change could have been 
wrought in so short a time. Kings had grown 
somewhat out of public favor and no matter 
who the monarch might have been in 1789, a 
revolution of some sort was inevitable, but with 
6$ 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

a strong king it might have been effected without 
the " Reign of Terror." 

The delegates of the Third Estate in the 
States-General of 1789 were not the timid depu- 
ties who cowered under the crack of the whip, 
nor the cringing flunkies who followed in the 
train of the Great Louis. They did not cast their 
eyes timidly to the ground under the haughty 
gaze of a king; they stood erect and wore their 
hats in his presence, in contravention of a rigid 
rule of ceremony that had been in vogue time 
out of mind. We cannot in our practical age 
comprehend to its full meaning the breach of 
that ancient and honored law of etiquette. It 
was revolutionary in itself to remain covered be- 
fore the king, but times, men and customs had 
changed. 



69 



CHAPTER VI 

ADVISERS OF THE KING THE QUEEN THE FI- 
NANCES REVOLUTIONS BEGIN AT THE TOP 

Louis XVI had not wisdom enough to accept 
the inevitable. He had the false pride of a weak 
man and knew not how nor when to surrender. 
Every concession he made to the public was 
wrung from him or given so reluctantly and in 
so graceless a manner that he aroused the resent- 
ment of the people instead of winning their grat- 
itude. 

He was most unfortunate in the selection of 
his advisers. The men directing public affairs 
were apprentices in state-craft, flatterers and 
time servers. A proud, an insolent aristocracy, 
a crowd of hungry, selfish courtiers, were 
swarming around the king, disconcerting him 
with their council, and still fattening on the pub- 
lic treasury. There was no thought in the minds 
of these silly and improvident people of reducing 
the expenditures; their only demand was to in- 
crease the revenues. If they scanned the politi- 
cal sky and saw the signs of an approaching 
storm, they calmed their fears by assuring them- 
selves, that in the nature of things it could not 
last long. 

Strange to say it took the king and the nobles 
70 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

a considerable length of time to appreciate the 
fact that the Revolution was more than a mere 
temporary disturbance. " Believe me, Madame," 
said Dumouriez in addressing the queen, " I ab- 
hor anarchy and crime as much as you do. This 
is not a transient, popular movement as you seem 
to think. It is an almost unanimous insurrec- 
tion of a mighty nation against inveterate 
abuses." 

The deluge predicted by Louis XV and Ma- 
dame de Pompadour was rising rapidly but no 
one in the court circles was making preparations 
to pilot the ship of state into a port of safety. 
The monarchy was fast drifting toward the 
rocks and shoals. 

The queen was looked upon as the evil genius 
of the king. It was claimed that she had advised 
him in all the mistakes he had made and that 
she was responsible for his attitude towards the 
public. 

Her name had been mentioned in connection 
with several scandals and Dame Rumor had 
ceased whispering and was now talking aloud. 
All sorts of stories reflecting upon her character 
as queen, woman, wife and mother were put in 
circulation and spread broadcast. She was con- 
temptuously called " VAustrienne" "Why do 
the people," she exclaimed, " hate me so. I am 
no foreigner, no stranger, but thoroughly French 
in purpose and sentiment. My children were 
born here. This is my home, all my interests 
are here, where else could I go? " But alas! her 
protestations were too late. By her frivolity, 
7i 



DANTON 

extravagance and apparent indifference to the 
sufferings of the poor, she had provoked the re- 
sentment of the entire community. A story was 
current that when she was told that the people 
were hungry and wanted bread, she innocently 
asked, " Why do they not eat cake? " Whether 
this was spoken ignorantly, facetiously or con- 
temptuously, it is hard to say. But it was suc- 
cessfully used by her enemies to discredit her 
in the estimation of the people. She seldom ap- 
peared in public without being insulted. 

The ministers of finance had juggled with the 
figures of their reports, but the truth would not 
down that the deficit was annually increasing. 
Calonne had borrowed and spent some 500,000,- 
000 francs. The exchequer was exhausted and 
ingenious financiers could not suggest nor pro- 
vide any new methods for raising money. The 
national credit was not sufficient to induce, at 
this time, under an inefficient administration, any 
more loans, and every means of taxation had 
been tried until the purses of the peasants were 
empty. " The deficit, now 100,000,000 livres 
per annum, threatened to devour the monarchy." 
Yet the income was not falling off but really 
augmenting. 

At this period things were no worse than they 
had been but the trouble was that, although the 
revenues had grown in amount, the expenditures 
were increasing in a greater ratio than the rev- 
enues. The wealth of the country had not di- 
minished. The burdens upon commerce and 
agriculture were relatively not heavier than 




Marie Antoinette 

From an engraving in the collection of 

William J. Latta, Esq. 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

in the past. In fact all agree that the country's 
material prosperity was advancing, but what was 
needed was a wise and an economical administra- 
tion of public affairs. The extravagance of the 
court, the civil list, the pensions, the immense 
amount of interest on the loans, and the public 
debt together with the current expenses were 
far more than the revenues could meet, and the 
consequence was an annual deficiency. 

As time wore on and the disasters multiplied, 
the court did make a spasmodic effort to practice 
economy but it was not sufficient to change mate- 
rially the conditions. 

A reference to the Red Book published in 1790, 
will give some idea of the immense sums of 
money that were squandered by royalty. The 
secret expenses of the court reached the highest 
mark in 1783, when the total was 145,000,000 
livres. They were at the lowest point in 1787, 
when they amountd to 82,000,000 livres. Reign 
after reign, the facts in relation to these royal ex- 
penditures had been concealed from the public. 
The people had no voice; they were not con- 
sulted in the matter of the appropriation and 
spending of their money. The monarch had 
wasted these large sums annually without even 
the pretense of any accountability to the nation. 
But the people had improved intellectually, men 
were thinking, were inquiring, were complain- 
ing. They dared not express themselves under 
Louis XIV, they only whispered in the days of 
Louis XV, but now, with a weak king, they 
spoke aloud. Petitions for a redress of griev- 

73 



DANTON 

ances had become public declarations and de- 
mands. In the past they had been lowly and 
even servile in tone, beseeching the king's favor, 
while the petitioners " with bated breath and 
whispering humbleness " would beg his majesty's 
pardon for having the boldness and assurance to 
complain. The peasant slave kept his eyes on 
the ground when he sought and asked relief, but 
now men had grown bolder and looked the king 
in the face when their demands were made. 

Revolutions generally result from the attempts 
of the aristocracy or the government to effect 
slight reforms. Political revolutions begin at 
the top; their violence at last comes from below. 
" I perceive/' said Danton, " that in revolutions 
the supreme power ultimately rests with the most 
abandoned." The French Revolution was not 
inaugurated by the peasantry and the rabble but 
by the upper and the middle classes; that is by 
the middle class assisted by a minority of the 
aristocracy, who understood the conditions, sym- 
pathized with the suffering poor, and were fair 
and just enough to urge reforms. Lawyers, 
doctors, journalists, students, merchants, manu- 
facturers and artisans, men of the middle class 
who had been reading and thinking and who had 
been investigating and considering the causes that 
had produced and were producing the melancholy 
conditions that prevailed, made the French Rev- 
olution. The peasants and the proletariat could 
not read ; they had made no progress ; they knew 
nothing of the teachings and the doctrines of the 
great philosophers, who had pointed the way to 
74 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

revolution. They were steeped as deeply in ig- 
norance as they had been in the past centuries. 

The first impetus was given to the Revolution 
when the conservative nobles advocated reforms. 
It was then the middle class, that enjoyed no 
special privileges and exemptions, but felt the in- 
justice of the system that had stopped the 
avenues of preferment to self-made, independent 
and ambitious men, rose in their strength to de- 
mand a change. " When therefore the French 
Revolution broke out, it was not," declares 
Buckle, " a mere rising of ignorant slaves against 
educated masters, but it was a rising of men in 
whom the despair caused by slavery was quick- 
ened by the resources of advancing knowl- 
edge." 

The mobs in the early days of the Revolution 
were composed not only of the scuff and scum 
of the purlieus of Paris. Men of position were 
in the crowd that leveled the walls of the Bastile. 
Nobles who had no patience with the policy of 
the court and the tyranny of the State, marched 
with that mob in the attack upon that hated dun- 
geon. Herault de Sechelles, nobly born, of ele- 
gant manners, of education, a brilliant lawyer, 
related to the Polignacs, at one time a courtier 
and a favorite of the queen, was one of the first 
men over the drawbridge to demand the sur- 
render of the garrison. The philosophers were 
the apostles of the Revolution, and their disci- 
ples in the upper and the middle classes, were 
the reformers who put their principles to a prac- 
tical application. Their followers were not con- 

75 



DANTON 

fined to one class but included the intelligent of 
all classes. 

The personnel of the commonalty in the 
States-General proves the truth of the forego- 
ing statement. Of the 584 deputies, 12 were 
classed as gentlemen, 2 were priests, 18 were 
mayors of towns, 162 were magistrates of baili- 
wicks, 212 were lawyers, 16 were doctors, and 
162 were merchants, landowners and farmers. 
The deputies of the Third Estate had among 
their number some of the ablest men in France. 

Several of these men were titled and they 
dared to denounce the old system and to urge 
the needed reforms. Lawyers of learning, of 
eloquence and of national reputation, donned the 
black garb of the Commons. Among the nobles, 
too, were many who favored the union of the 
three orders and who were liberal in their views ; 
in fact after the royal seance, a number of them 
withdrew from the sessions of their order and 
joined the Third Estate. In the ranks of the 
clergy also were many who warmly sympathized 
with the popular cause. 

The Revolution was made by the middle class 
and by a minority of the nobility and clergy. 
The real work was begun not by the rabble but 
by the best elements in the nation. 



76 



CHAPTER VII 

DANTON IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE REVOLU- 
TION THE AFFAIR OF SOULES MARAT THE 

INCIDENT OF MARAT EARLY EVENTS OF THE 

REVOLUTION 

The States-General met on May 5, 1789, at 
Versailles. Danton was not a delegate to that 
body, and during the early stages of the Revolu- 
tion he did not appear prominently in the public 
eye. At the fall of the Bastile, it is said that 
he was present and took part in the attack, but 
there is no substantial proof of this. The royal- 
ists asserted that they saw him in the early riots. 

On the 1 6th of July, two days after the fall 
of the Bastile, he was about to enter, at the head 
of a patrol, the court of the old fortress, when 
he was stopped by Soules the new governor. 
Danton disregarded his orders, called his com- 
mission a rag and placed him under arrest for 
his interference. He took Soules as his prisoner 
to the Town Hall and there after an investiga- 
tion into the facts, the authorities censured Dan- 
ton for his arbitrary act and reinstated Soules. 
La Fayette was specially bitter in his denuncia- 
tion of Danton's conduct and from this time 
they were sworn enemies. 

Danton's reputation for a long while remained 
77 



DANTON 

merely local, circumscribed by the boundary lines 
of his own district. He was, however, active in 
his section and was one of the first presidents of 
the Club of the Cordeliers, an organization that 
played a very prominent part in the events of 
the Revolution. In the beginning it was without 
question the most radical and revolutionary of 
all the political associations. The section of 
Paris known as the Cordeliers had nothing in 
common with the districts of St. Antoine and 
St. Marceau. It was a locality in which the 
courts were established and where judges, law- 
yers and students gathered. The cafes in this 
quarter were well conducted and the tables were 
surrounded by professional men of education, 
who argued intelligently upon events and con- 
ditions. It was a hot-bed of revolution. Al- 
though Danton, as we have already said, was not 
a deputy to the States-General, we may presume 
that he was watching closely the opening scenes 
in a revolution that he had predicted. He per- 
haps mingled with the throngs at the Palais 
Royal, he may even have addressed them. His 
friend Desmoulins was a frequent visitor to the 
gardens and, no doubt, Danton often accom- 
panied him. 

It is hard to find any trace of him during this 
period. He was not a journalist like Desmou- 
lins nor even a pamphleteer, and consequently 
no articles came from his pen, touching the ques- 
tions of the hour. He kept steadily plodding 
away at his practice and the part he took at this 
time in politics was only incidental. He did not 
78 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

make an appearance on the memorable days of 
the 5th and 6th of October. During this period, 
however, he was the recognized leader of his 
district. A brush he had with La Fayette 
brought him into great prominence, but in the 
end it was the means of sending him to the rear 
for a long space of time. It was called the in- 
cident or the affair of Marat, " I 'affaire de 
Marat" 

Jean Paul Marat was one of the most remark- 
able creations of that most remarkable epoch, 
in many respects he was the worst product of 
the Revolution and he symbolized one phase of 
it. He was by birth a Swiss. His father, born 
in Sardinia, was a man of education and by pro- 
fession a physician. His mother was a Swiss 
Protestant. The home influences that sur- 
rounded his youth were refining and educating. 
His capacious mind readily absorbed learning. 
He had a keen perception and his memory was 
marvelously retentive. He received a liberal ed- 
ucation at the University of Bordeaux. 

In his early manhood, possessed of a restless 
and an adventurous disposition, he started out 
into the world to make his way alone and to 
win the favors of Fortune. He traveled through 
foreign lands and acquired a facile use of many 
tongues. He was a linguist of no mean distinc- 
tion. 

He sought knowledge in every direction and 
in all the known branches of science. One of 
his publications provoked the criticism and rail- 
lery of Voltaire and brought him into public no- 

79 



DANTON 

tice. Professor Charles, a man of considerable 
distinction in that day, ridiculed some of the 
medical views of Marat. The latter replied with 
a torrent of abuse and the controversy without 
reaching a satisfactory conclusion from a scien- 
tific point of view resulted at last in a duel. 
Neither combatant was injured. 

Marat gained the friendship of Benjamin 
Franklin, the attention of the American phi- 
losopher having been drawn to one of his tracts 
on electricity. 

He corresponded with learned men throughout 
Europe and was fairly well known in the scien- 
tific world. An honorary degree of M.D. was 
conferred upon him by the University of St. An- 
drew in Scotland and for ten years he resided 
in London and practiced as a physician in the 
fashionable locality of Soho Square. 

About this time he wrote a work entitled 
" Chains of Slavery." It was originally written 
in English and published in England. It shows 
the bent of his mind in relation to matters politi- 
cal, even at this early period. 

Upon his return to France he settled in Paris 
and was appointed by the Count of Artois phy- 
sician to his body guards, and incidentally he 
looked after the health of the horses in the stables. 
It is from this fact that Carlyle calls him a horse- 
leech but in no sense of the word was he a 
horse doctor, nor is there the slightest reason 
for so intimating. 

A nobleman, in the early days of the Revolu- 
tion, with the purpose, no doubt, of reflecting 




Marat 

From an engraving in the collection of 

William J. Latta, Esq. 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

upon the professional standing of Marat, and 
holding him up to public ridicule, declared that 
the doctor having been called in to prescribe, gave 
him a dose of horse physic and almost succeeded 
in taking his life. This story too may have 
given the rumor strength, but the truth is that 
Marat really was a physician of no mean standing. 

His private practice brought him into imme- 
diate contact with the aristocracy. He acquired 
quite a reputation as a successful practitioner, 
made money, dressed well, was considered a man 
of fashion and was frequently referred to as 
" the friend of the great ladies." " He was, 
withal," says Barras, " a good easy man in so- 
ciety wherein he shone by his acquirements." 

At this time he must have conceived a mortal 
hatred for the nobility and the privileged classes. 
He no doubt had been stung by their insolence 
and his proud, conceited and independent spirit 
had smarted under the social restrictions that 
were drawn, which restrictions he, perhaps, had 
rudely been taught to respect when, with his 
characteristic impudence, he attempted to cross 
the line of social demarcation. 

He must have brooded over his wrongs, im- 
aginary or otherwise, for when the Revolution 
came, he plunged into its vortex with all the ardor 
and malignity of his nature. At the opening of 
the Revolution he was a man of some means and 
of comparative leisure; had withdrawn almost 
entirely from the active practice of medicine and 
was absorbed in the study of science. 

His publications were numerous but somehow 
6 81 



DANTON 

failed to attract the attention which his vanity 
and conceit thought they deserved. They were 
of vast scope, from a work on optics and an 
essay on gleets, to a discourse on the immortality 
of the soul. Imbued with the teachings of the 
philosophers, urged by a consuming ambition 
and possessed by a deadly hatred, for the aris- 
tocracy, the Revolution opened up to him a vista 
in which his imagination reveled. He would 
now find a theatre for his genius and an op- 
portunity to avenge his hate. 

Nervous, irritable, suspicious, eager for noto- 
riety, this rabid fanatic assailed the old order and 
all those that gave it allegiance or support. 

As the Revolution grew in intensity, so did 
he, in fact he was one of the leaders that out- 
stripped it. As time wore on he became wild, 
unreasonable, intolerant with a consuming thirst 
for blood in his desire to exterminate the aristo- 
crats, and not only the aristocrats but all those 
that differed with him in their views. His en- 
mity was as bitter and as relentless against the 
Girondins and partisan foes, as against the roy- 
alists. " In truth," says Lamartine, " as his 
power increased he became so impressed with his 
own importance that he threatened everyone, 
even his former friends." 

After losing his small fortune, he made his 
living by his pen. He became a journalist and 
his paper, called " The Friend of the People," 
preached the gospel of revolt, murder and pil- 
lage. " He had the clumsy tumblings of the 
brute in his thought, and its gnashing of teeth 
82 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

in his style. His journal smelt of blood in every 
line." 

Nobody was safe from his scurrilous attacks. 
Mirabeau, Necker, Bailly, La Fayette, Dumour- 
iez, men in the highest positions, were most bit- 
terly assailed. He demanded among other 
things that eight hundred traitorous deputies, 
with Mirabeau at their head, should be sent to 
the gibbet. Mirabeau, when his attention was 
called to this article, merely shrugged his shoul- 
ders and laughingly said with his usual sang 
froid, " Why, the man must be drunk." In the 
Assembly he openly declared there would be no 
tranquillity in the State until two hundred and 
eighty-six traitors were brought to the scaffold. 
He himself had compiled the list of the proscribed. 
In the columns of his paper he made an exact 
calculation, showing how 260,000 men could be 
put to death in one day. He is called by a dis- 
tinguished French historian " the apostle of as- 
sassination en masse/' 

During the September massacres he proposed 
to Danton to set the prisons on fire and thus de- 
vour the aristocrats and " suspects " in the flames, 
a quicker method, and therein, perhaps, more 
humane, than slaughtering the victims one by one 
at the wicket. 

It was from no sentiment of humanity, how- 
ever, that he was induced to make that sugges- 
tion, he wanted wholesale butchery that none 
might escape. " Daggers ! daggers ! friend 
Marat ! but torches, torches likewise. Blood 
must be mingled with ashes," says Lamartine. 

83 



DANTON 

He advised the institution of a brotherhood of 
spies and informers. He wanted the authorities 
to set up a receptacle like the Iron Mouth of 
Venice, in which could be deposited the com- 
plaints of patriots; a post box and mail serv- 
ice furnished by the government for the exclu- 
sive use, without even the payment of postage, 
of that contemptible creature, the anonymous let- 
ter writer; an easy and a convenient method 
provided by the State for the inculpation of the 
innocent; a means to satisfy, to avenge the 
envy, hatred and fear of ignoble minds. The 
coward, without revealing his identity, could thus 
imperil the life and liberty of his rival. 

Such a system would have created in every 
mind a feeling of dread and suspicion and 
would have warmed into life a brood of infa- 
mous spies and informers. But anything that 
furnished victims met with the approval of 
Marat. He had a ferocious heart and was most 
vindictive in temper. He was the fury of the 
Revolution, " the outcast of assassination." 

" Give me," he cried, " two hundred Neapoli- 
tans, the knife in their right hand, in their left a 
muff to serve for a shield, and with these I will 
traverse France and complete the Revolution." 

" His imagination thirsts for torments, he 
would have flaming stakes, conflagrations and 
atrocious mutilations." As time ran on, his 
rage became uncontrolable. " Brand them," he 
shrieked, " with a hot iron, cut off their thumbs, 
slit their tongues." His convulsions were hys- 
terical. His incoherent vaporings were but the 
84 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

mutterings of a disordered mind. His appetite 
for gore was canine, not human. 

" It was blood," says Sir Walter Scott, " that 
was Marat's constant demand, not in drops from 
the breast of an individual, not in puny streams 
from the slaughter of families, but blood in the 
profusion of an ocean." While Danton one day 
was standing in the hall of the convention talk- 
ing with a friend, Marat came along, drew him 
aside and whispered in his ear. Danton upon 
returning to his friend said : " The brute ! he 
craves more blood." 

In his projected Constitution he wrote : " When 
a man is in want of everything, he has a right 
to take from another the superfluity in which 
he is wallowing, nay more, he has a right to take 
from him his necessary things; and rather than 
starve, has a right to cut his throat and devour 
his palpitating flesh." 

" His political exhortations began and ended 
like the howl of a bloodhound for murder." 
When he entered the Assembly, he was shunned 
by everybody, even by the members of his own 
party. After speaking in the tribune, upon one 
occasion, a deputy moved that it should be puri- 
fied before any one else should enter it. 

Dr. Moore wrote in his diary, " Marat has 
carried his calumnies to such a length that he is 
apparently detested by everybody. When he 
enters the Assembly and seats himself, those near 
him generally rise and change their seats. I saw 
him, at one time, address himself to Louvet ; and 
in doing so he attempted to lay his hand on 
85 



DANTON 

Louvet's shoulder, who instantly started back 
with looks of aversion, exclaiming, i Do not 
touch me.' " 

One day when several accusations had been 
made against him, he cried out, " Men ! if these 
be crimes, you know what to do," and at the same 
time he swept his hand suggestively across his 
throat. Upon another occasion he made a state- 
ment that momentarily aroused the anger of the 
deputies, but " such a declaration," said Dr. 
Moore, " issuing from a little, dirty mortal, whose 
murky visage scarce overlooked the tribune, 
turned the indignation of the Assembly into mirth 
and many of the members burst into laughter." 

Nothing could abash or disconcert him, even 
when he was shunned by everybody and when 
the murmurs against him in the Assembly were 
loudest he strutted about among the deputies ap- 
parently unconcerned. 

He lived in a dilapidated house in the Rue des 
Cordeliers. His library consisted of about fifty 
volumes of philosophical works, and these were 
arranged on a wooden shelf nailed to the wall. 
Montesquieu and Raynal were his favorite au- 
thors. The New Testament was always on his 
table, generally lying open as if frequently con- 
sulted. When some one referred to this fact he 
replied, " The Revolution is the Gospel," and 
bowing reverentially he added, " Jesus Christ is 
our Master, no one so loved the poor as he and 
so cast maledictions on the heads of the rich and 
powerful." 

In manner and speech Marat was rough and 
86 






THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

insulting. There was one, however, whom he 
always addressed in a tone of tenderness — his 
housekeeper, a woman named Albertine. Per- 
haps she was the only creature in all the world 
he loved and she, in turn, looked upon him as 
an inspired prophet and a benefactor of the hu- 
man race. 

His customary attire was dirty and forlorn. 
He wore a dark vest or waistcoat, shabby, 
patched and mended ; his shirt sleeves were turned 
up to his elbows, his trousers were cotton velvet, 
usually stained with ink. With his blue cotton 
stockings he wore shoes tied with pack thread. 
A dirty shirt was open at the breast, and his hair, 
cropped short at the temples and falling over 
his shoulders, was tied behind in a leathern 
thong; surmounting all was a large broad- 
brimmed hat. Sometimes he wore, wrapped 
around his head, a colored handkerchief. 

He was almost a dwarf in stature, being less 
than five feet in height. His head was much too 
large for his body, and the ever-present insolent 
leer upon his features made his face most repul- 
sive. 

" He was," says Lamartine, " thin and bony, 
his body appeared as if consumed by an internal 
fire ; gall and blood were marked upon his skin ; 
his eyes, though prominent and full of insolence, 
appeared to shrink from the glare of full day- 
light ; his mouth, deeply cleft as if to vent abuse, 
had the habitual sneer of disdain." 

His effrontery and impudence were brazen. 
" No dangers can terrify him, no detection can 
87 



D ANTON 

disconcert him, his heart as well as his forehead 
seems to be of brass." Upon a certain occasion, 
although not bidden to the feast, he went to the 
house of the Rolands while a reception was in 
progress and, shuffling through the halls, reached 
the drawing-room, where he announced in a loud 
voice that he wanted to see Danton. Unclean, 
unkempt, covered with the dirt of the street, he 
seemed like a little imp in this goodly company 
of well-dressed folk ; but the broad leer upon his 
face showed how much he enjoyed the discom- 
fiture of the guests, especially that of some mem- 
bers of the Assembly, who, without offending the 
little tyrant, endeavored to avoid him. 

At another time he interrupted a social func- 
tion at Talma's, to interview Dumouriez upon 
some matters in relation to the army. Dumou- 
riez, with a military air, drawing himself up to his 
full height, looked down disdainfully upon this 
little frog that seemed to have jumped into the 
parlor out of the gutter, and said : " Ah ! and 
so you are called Marat. I have nothing to say 
to you." Then turning on his heel and walking 
aside, he left the saucy intruder to find his way 
out of the room, amidst the sneers and jeers of 
the guests. But the columns of Marat's journal 
next day fumed with rage and the general paid 
a heavy penalty for his insult. Marat publicly 
scolded La Fayette and almost every man of 
prominence. No person could escape his de- 
nunciation, no place or occasion was safe from 
his intrusion. 

He knew the proprieties of life, for as we 
88 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

have seen, he had once enjoyed the amenities of 
society, but that was before he became an out- 
law, before his envy like a cancer began eating 
into his heart and deadening his every sensi- 
bility. Danton at one time declared publicly, and 
this was when Marat had great influence with 
the mob, that he did not like this man. " I have 
had some experience with him and I find him 
boisterous, quarrelsome and unsociable." 

Danton twice came to his assistance when he 
was in peril, but the great tribune was induced 
to act for reasons other than the personal safety 
of Marat and outside of any respect or regard 
he had for him. 

One day Danton, while in conversation with 
him, became so disgusted with the doctor's filthy 
appearance, that he told him to " go home, wash 
and put on a clean shirt." 

The lower he fell in social position and the 
more he was hunted and persecuted by the au- 
thorities, the greater grew his popularity with the 
mob. " None exercised," says Mignet, " a more 
fatal influence upon the period in which he lived, 
than Marat." 

He was hunted from cellar to garret, and to 
avoid his pursuers he took refuge even in the 
vaults of the Church of the Cordeliers and in the 
public sewers. 

His persecutions naturally endeared him to the 
people. His poverty, his want, his privations, 
his sufferings, aroused their sympathies. Dan- 
ton was of course a rabid revolutionist, but he 
was a high liver, somewhat aristocratic in his 
89 



DANTON 

tastes. Robespierre was loyal to the Revolution, 
but he was cold, proud and repelled all familiar- 
ity. Vergniaud was a dreamer who soared far 
above the heads of the multitude, and they could 
never get in touch with him. The people could 
stand aloof and admire these men, but they could 
draw close to and love Marat. He was of the 
rabble, the representative of the discontented 
poor. During the " Reign of Terror " he had 
the authority of a dictator, among the masses 
his word was law. " This modern Tiberius sent 
his orders to the multitude from the depth of 
his indigent Caprea," and exercised a power that 
was all but imperial. 

Fanatical in his devotion to the Revolution, 
he could not be bought, driven, intimidated, se- 
duced nor cajoled. Flattery fell upon his ears 
like water on a rock. Place, women, money 
could not tempt him; his estate when he died 
consisted of twenty cents in cash, and yet in his 
lifetime he could have sold the columns of his 
paper for any amount he might have asked. 

He proved ever steadfast to the Revolution, 
he was its constant advance guard; while many 
of the men whom he had denounced, against 
whom he had railed and at whom he had pointed 
his canny finger in warning, either proved dis- 
loyal or fell one by one under public censure. 
Mirabeau's bust after his death was veiled. 
Necker, La Fayette and Dumouriez fled the coun- 
try. No wonder the multitude looked upon 
Marat as one who spoke with the voice of a 
prophet. 

90 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

The most remarkable thing about the man 
was his indefatigability. He seemed never to 
tire, often he would write far into the night. 
Under the light of a tallow candle and while 
seated in a tub of cold water to allay a raging 
inward fever, he would toil until the morning 
dawned. He watched while others slept, but 
" his vigils," says Lamartine, " cost blood the 
next day." 

We have drawn him in pretty dark colors, and 
it is but fair that he should be heard in his own 
defense. The following article appeared in his 
journal at a time when he thought it wise to 
soften the attacks that were being made upon 
him: 

" I speak to-day of myself. I desire to ap- 
pear in my true light, for the enemies of liberty 
unceasingly represent me as a madman, a can- 
nibal, a tiger thirsting for blood. I was born 
with a sensitive heart, a fiery imagination, a 
frank and an impetuous character, a right mind, 
a heart that eagerly drank in all exalted pas- 
sions, especially the love of glory. 

" I was brought up in my father's house with 
the tenderest care and I arrived at manhood with- 
out having ever abandoned myself to the fury of 
my passions. At twenty-one years of age I was 
pure and had long given myself up to study and 
meditation. I owe to nature the stamp of my 
character, but it is to my mother that I owe its 
subsequent development. She planted in my 
heart the love of justice and humanity. When 
eight years old, I could not bear the sight of any 

91 



DANTON 

ill treatment towards my fellow creatures, and the 
sight of cruelty and injustice aroused my anger 
as though it had been a personal outrage. In 
my early youth my body was feeble and I never 
knew the joy or the plays of childhood. My 
principal passion at that early day was love of 
glory, and I am now ambitious of the glory of 
immolating myself upon the altar of my country. 

" Thoughtful from my youth, my choicest 
pleasures have been found in meditation. I have 
passed five and twenty years in retirement and 
in the perusal and consideration of the best au- 
thors on morals, philosophy and policy, in order 
to deduce the wisest conclusions. 

" In eight volumes of metaphysics, twenty of 
physical sciences, I have been actuated by a 
sincere desire of being useful to humanity. The 
quacks of the Corps Scientifique, — D'Alembert, 
Condorcet, Laplace, Lalande, Monge, Lavoisier, 
wish to be alone, and I could not even pronounce 
the titles of my works. During five years I 
groaned beneath this cowardly oppression. 

" When the Revolution convoked the States- 
General I soon saw whither things were tending, 
and I began to entertain the hope of beholding 
humanity and of mounting to my right place." 

The article, although it delineates his character 
in the softest shades and adroitly appeals to the 
sympathies of the people, yet reveals in every 
line a consuming envy, an overweening ambition, 
an insatiable thirst for personal glory from his 
very youth. His envy even goes so far as to 
designate contemptuously a group of immortals 
92 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

as a " Corps Scientifique," under whose " cow- 
ardly oppression," he complains, he groaned for 
years, which oppression no doubt consisted in a 
neglect upon the part of some of them to recog- 
nize merit in his numerous scientific publications. 
He was simply envious of the recognition and 
distinction they had obtained in the learned world, 
which recognition and distinction, as an author, 
he could not secure and which he did not de- 
serve. It is a difficult task to analyze the mo- 
tives and to delineate the character of such a 
man. To some he was a monster, to others a 
sincere reformer. Many of his admirers eulogize 
him as a martyr to the cause of human liberty. 
No one can doubt his honesty, they exultantly 
declare. Honesty! What is honesty? The 
cannibal who spits and roasts the missionary is 
honest ; it never occurs to him that he is commit- 
ting a wrong when he offers up his victim as a 
sacrifice to his gods. With him the act is a 
religious ceremony. The Indian who tortures 
his prisoner, who scalps him and burns him at 
the stake is honest. The religious fanatic who 
cracks the bones of the heretic on the wheel or 
draws him asunder on the rack is honest. If 
this be honest, then it is well that " to be honest 
is to be one man out of ten thousand." But what 
has the world to say of such honesty? Are the 
perpetrators of the acts of cruelty, barbarity and 
inhumanity to be admired or defended because 
they claim to be honest? 

There is one, and only one, excuse to be made 
for Marat, and that is that he was mentally ir- 
93 



DANTON 

responsible. If he were not a man insane, then 
he was a beast, a monster. 

He did not elevate men by his teachings, he 
debased them. He incited them to pillage, to 
murder. He confounded liberty with license, 
ignored the underlying principles of human jus- 
tice, and set at defiance every sentiment of hu- 
manity. He declared a faith in Christ, but he 
was in no sense a disciple. His gospel was not 
charity and mercy, but vengeance and death. 
He professed a belief in God and yet he was not 
controlled nor restrained by any laws, human or 
divine. 

In his conduct he was actuated by the lowest 
motives of the human heart, envy, and a desire 
to avenge a personal hatred and what he consid- 
ered a personal wrong. To encompass his ends 
he appealed to the lowest passions of men and 
aroused in their hearts envy, malice and all un- 
charitableness, till he made his followers as blood- 
thirsty as himself. 

He was never so happy as when he added a 
new name to his proscription list. He gloated 
and rubbed his hands with glee when the gutters 
ran blood during the September massacres. He 
was bent on destruction and his purpose was to 
level the whole social mass, to bring it down to 
one level, a low level at that, to do away with 
all distinctions, not only in political life, which 
was the real purpose of the Revolution, but in 
social life as well. 

There was nothing of the fool in Marat. " He 
was neither a mountebank nor a charlatan," says 
94 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

McCarthy. He did not " caper to amuse the pit," 
nor did he make false pretensions. He was a 
serious, a sincere fiend, controlled by a relentless 
hatred, by a consuming envy, and dominated by 
the spirit of a bloodthirsty fanaticism. 

He was intoxicated with the strong wine of 
the Revolution, he was drunk with its dregs; his 
brain was turned, his mind was disturbed, dis- 
ordered. " It is also fair to say," writes Belloc, 
"that he was nearly mad." "We are inclined 
to believe," says Sir Walter Scott, " that there 
was a touch of insanity in his unnatural ferocity, 
and the wild and squalid features of the wretch 
appear to have intimated a degree of alienation of 
mind." 

In the early stages of the Revolution Dr. Bour- 
dier, who used to read Marat's paper, would, 
when it got too sanguinary, seek out Marat and 
bleed him. The doctor really thought that Ma- 
rat's mind was affected by the excitements of the 
period, and prescribed for what he called his 
mental malady. 

But this creature grew in popular favor to such 
a degree, that after his death he was paid honors 
almost divine. 

His obsequies were arranged by the painter 
David, who gave full scope to his artistic taste 
and made the funeral one of the most spectacular 
ever witnessed in France. 

The artist endeavored to imitate the obsequies 
of Caesar. The body was exposed upon a cata- 
falque in the Church of the Cordeliers; the dag- 
ger of the assassin, the block of wood which 

95 



DANTON 

Marat used as a desk, and the leaden inkstand 
were displayed in open view, so as to stir the 
emotions of the people. To make the funeral 
more impressive the cortege left the church in 
the evening and the place of sepulture was not 
reached until midnight. Under the glare of the 
torches and in the solemn step of the funeral 
march, the procession passed slowly on its way; 
the multitude in silence stood uncovered. Young 
girls dressed in white surrounded the funeral car 
and chanted hymns in honor of this demon of 
assassination. 

In the Place du Carrousel, a monument in the 
form of a pyramid was erected to his memory, 
in which were placed his bust, his writing desk 
and his bath tub. Sentinels were placed at the 
entrance of the tomb to guard these sacred relics. 
A decree in the Assembly in November, 1793, or- 
dered the removal of the remains of Mirabeau 
from the Pantheon and directed that those of 
Marat should occupy the space thus left vacant. 
Eventually, however, his bust was destroyed, and 
his body, taken from the tomb, was dragged by 
a howling mob through the mud of the streets 
of Paris. 

We have thus fully drawn the character and 
the incidents in the life of Marat because he rep- 
resented and embodied in himself the worst fea- 
tures and phases of the Revolution. He was the 
direct product of its dregs, its hate, its violence, 
its anarchism, its bloodthirstiness. He was its 
ultra doctrinaire, the apostle of its gospel of mur- 
der. He stood not alone, he was but one of a 
96 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

class, and to have a clear conception of the Revo- 
lution it is necessary to have a knowledge of this 
class. There is a vast difference between Danton 
and Marat, but after all they were both revolu- 
tionists, and in the matter of comparison it is but 
a question of degree. They were partisans in the 
same cause, only their dispositions and methods 
differed. Danton never countenanced the wild 
theories and exaggerations of Marat; one was a 
practical politician, the other an unreasonable 
fanatic. 

In the summer of 1789, Marat used his paper 
to attack Necker, Bailly and La Fayette. He un- 
reservedly charged them with the embezzlement 
of public funds and with conspiring to raise an 
army for the subjugation of France. Day after 
day he repeated these monstrous lies and the con- 
stant repetition, without any public denial, in- 
duced many people to believe the charges were 
true. They were of course without any founda- 
tion and found conception only in Marat's fevered 
and excited imagination. 

The authorities, at last, decided that some ac- 
tion should be taken against this maligner of per- 
sons and arch disturber of the public peace. Ac- 
cordingly in the latter part of September, 1789, 
Marat was summoned to the bar of the Commune 
to answer for these libels upon Bailly, the mayor 
of the city. Marat failing to appear, a warrant 
was issued for his arrest by the Court of the 
Chatelet on the 6th of October; but the officials 
because of the public excitement and tumult on 
that day, occasioned by the march of the women 
7 97 



DANTON 

to Versailles, thought it prudent to defer action 
until the excitement should somewhat subside. 
When the officers started out to find the doctor 
he had fled to Montmartre. From this locality he 
continued to issue his journal, without in any wise 
tempering the bitterness of his attacks. 

On the 1 2th of December, the officers renewed 
their search; the doctor was found and arrested. 
He was taken before a lower court, but as the 
matter had grown somewhat stale, the prosecu- 
tion was not pressed and the prisoner w r as dis- 
charged without a hearing. At it he went again 
with all his might. His escape from justice was 
taken by him as a show of weakness upon the 
part of the authorities, and his venomous, slan- 
derous attacks were only intensified. 

The authorities again took the matter under 
consideration and decided to arrest him at all 
hazards. Armed with the old warrant of Octo- 
ber 6, 1789, La Fayette on the 22d of January, 
1790, in order to enforce service of the writ, 
marched with 3,000 soldiers of the National 
Guards, accompanied by two cannon, into the dis- 
trict where was located the printing establish- 
ment of the doctor. It was the section known as 
that of the Cordeliers, in which Danton resided. 
The marching of so large a body of troops to 
effect the arrest of one person, shows the progress 
the Revolution had made and also the weakness of 
the authorities in the matter of enforcing the pro- 
cess of the courts. 

Such a force on such an errand aroused the 
greatest excitement throughout the locality, and 
98 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

of course created a rebellious sentiment. Hot 
words were bandied and Danton declared that if 
an attack were made, he would arouse the fau- 
bourg St. Antoine and " make the jaws of the 
National Guards grow white." 

While the tumult continued Danton found an 
asylum for Marat in the house of Mademoiselle 
Fleury, an actress of the Theatre Frangais. 

Danton, full of revolutionary ardor, and his 
temper aroused by the presence of armed troops, 
boldly undertook the defense of the doctor and 
raised a technical point in the proceedings, that 
caused the officers to hesitate before making an 
arrest. He contended that since the issuance of 
the old warrant, a number of changes had been 
made in the law, and that in consequence the 
charge as originally preferred could not be sus- 
tained. While the officers were perplexed by the 
point raised, and were advising together what 
should be done, the wily little doctor slipped 
away and hurried post haste to England. 

When it became known that he had escaped, the 
printing office with its presses was destroyed. 

Danton's defense of Marat identified him with 
the doctor, who at this time was under public con- 
demnation. For a year and a half Danton, in 
consequence, wielded but little if any influence 
outside of his own district. After the escape of 
Marat, Danton himself was summoned to appear 
before the court of the Chatelet, and it required 
no little legal ingenuity to secure his discharge. 

Although this affair put Danton in an unen- 
viable position and kept him under a shadow for 
99 

tore. 



DANTON 

a long while, it was unjust to censure him, for he 
had no warm friendship for Marat, nor did he in 
any way approve of his conduct in so far as the 
management of his scandalous paper was con- 
cerned. " No two men could have been more dif- 
ferent than the learned, irritable, visionary physi- 
cian and the young, healthy, country lawyer." 
But Danton had become for the time being Ma- 
rat's champion and he had to pay a heavy penalty 
for his interference. Yet, after all, his conduct 
was only that of a young, an impulsive lawyer, 
who believing that the process of the court was 
being used illegally, could not forego the chance of 
raising a technical law point. Empires might fall 
and dynasties pass away, but such an opportunity 
was too good to lose. Danton was now consid- 
ered by the moderates and the conservatives as 
a dangerous demagogue, identified with the policy 
and the purposes of a fanatic and a madman. 
The people, without ascertaining his real inten- 
tions, looked upon him as a lawyer who had vol- 
unteered his services in behalf of an outlaw, and 
who had purposely interfered with the process of 
the courts. 

Danton resolved, for he understood the public 
temper, to act with more prudence and circumspec- 
tion in the future, and if possible recover his 
former standing. He was a man wise enough to 
take lessons from his mistakes and failures. 

The Revolution advanced at a terrific pace. 

Event followed close on the heel of event. The 

Declaration of the Rights of Man, the revelry of 

the life guards, the first flight of the nobles, the 

ioo 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

march of the women to Versailles, the return of 
the king to Paris, the meeting of the National As- 
sembly in the riding academy, the confiscation of 
Church property, the issuance of forced assignats, 
the removal of religious disabilities, the abolition 
of monastic vows, the suppression of religious 
orders, the execution of the Marquis de Favras, 
the abolition of lettres de cachet, the repeal of 
the salt tax, the publication of the Red Book, the 
institution of the jury, the abolition of all titles 
of nobility, the dismissal and banishment of 
Necker, the affair at Nancy, the funding of the 
public debt, and the " Day of the Daggers " were 
but a few of the successive steps in the march 
of the Revolution, and during all the period from 
January, 1790, to the spring of 1791, we see 
no sign of Danton, except that in the autumn of 
1790 he was chosen commander of the battalion 
of the National Guard of his section. He was 
evidently waiting for an opportunity to render 
such service to the public as would restore him 
to popular favor and induce them to forget and 
forgive his past errors. 



101 



CHAPTER VIII 

DEATH OF MIRABEAU LOUIS ATTEMPTS TO GO TO 

ST. CLOUD DANTON INTERVENES THE FLIGHT 

OF THE ROYAL FAMILY TO VARENNES 

In April, 1791, Mirabeau died. All Paris was 
plunged into gloom. The remains of the great 
statesman were carried to the tomb with a pomp 
that was truly magnificent and with a respect 
that was almost reverential. 

His death was hailed with delight by Marat, 
who with fiendish glee gloated over what he 
called the glorious news. In his zeal he knew 
the purpose of Mirabeau and while doubting his 
sincerity, he appreciated his power. He could 
make La Fayette, Bailly and Necker wince and 
squirm under his vicious attacks, but against 
Mirabeau his shafts were hurled in vain. 

Robespierre was pleased beyond expression, 
but he gave no outward sign in public of his sat- 
isfaction. We can almost hear, however, his 
quiet chuckle, like the death rattle in a throat, and 
see that stern, white face, " always systematically 
unmoved," relax into a smile. 

No expression of joy escaped from Danton, 
there was no hate in his heart for the great trib- 
une. He deplored the demise of so useful a 
man and considered it a public calamity. 
102 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Louis XVI, in this instance, had sense enough 
to appreciate the loss he had sustained. Danton 
and the king*, from two different points of view, 
measured the worth of Mirabeau. The former 
knew his power as a revolutionist and the latter 
valued him as a reactionist. 

In the early spring of this year Danton was 
elected administrator of the department of Paris. 
Easter was approaching and Louis expressed a 
desire to spend that season in the quietude of St. 
Cloud away from the turmoil and the excitements 
of the capital. It was not so much the seclu- 
sion of this suburban retreat he sought as an op- 
portunity to make arrangements to quit France. 
The people understood his purpose. The radical 
journals had been informing and warning them 
that it was the intention of the king, at the first 
opportunity, to abandon his throne and kingdom. 

Danton at the Cluj^ of the Cordeliers thundered 
against the kinjddmithdrawal from Paris. He 
openly charged him with deception, with viola- 
tion of the laws, and declared that he had no 
regard for the oath he had taken to support 
them; that he did not deem it as binding on his 
royal conscience, and that he considered the 
" Declaration of Rights " as an assumption on 
the part of the people of the king's sovereignty. 
He boldly asserted that Louis sought the retire- 
ment to St. Cloud, not for the purpose of conva- 
lescence, as was alleged, nor for religious con- 
templation, but for an opportunity to conspire 
with the enemies of France. 

La Fayette had advised with the king in rela- 
103 



DANTON 

tion to his Easter trip, and was fully in accord 
with the plan. He assured Louis that there 
would be no trouble, but unfortunately he had 
no true conception of the public temper. The 
position taken by La Fayette gave Danton an 
opportunity to win public favor, and at the same 
time to oppose and humiliate his old-time enemy. 
He had not forgotten the treatment he received 
at the time of the Soules affair and the incident 
of Marat, and he was determined to do all in his 
power to exhibit the weakness of La Fayette; 
also to prove to him and the people how little 
was the personal influence he wielded, even with 
the National Guards. It was a chance that Dan- 
ton long had sought. He had patiently bided his 
time. On the morning of April 18, 1791, the 
king, the queen and a small entourage came out 
into the courtyard of the Tuileries to take the 
carriages that were waiting to convey them to 
St. Cloud. A great many people had gathered 
to witness the departure and after the royal party 
were seated and the postillions were ready to 
start the horses at the crack of the whip, the 
crowd choked the way. It was useless to at- 
tempt to persuade that mob, for they announced 
in no uncertain terms that they were determined 
that the king should not leave Paris. The crowd 
was growing larger every minute, the people 
came hurrying from every quarter of the city, for 
the news had gone forth that the king was about 
to abandon his capital. Lawyers, doctors, mer- 
chants, clerks, artisans and laboring men were 
in that crowd and they were all of one mind — 
104 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

the king must stay at home. They claimed that 
if Louis had the right to rule over them, they 
had the right to insist upon his performing his 
duty. They believed he was about to desert 
them and at the first chance seek the protection 
of the enemies of France. 

They had the further right, under the circum- 
stances, they insisted, of designating the palace in 
which he should reside. It was their money 
that maintained it and provided his meat, drink 
and raiment. If they were his people, he was 
their king. Their relations were reciprocal. 

Even if they did not love Louis they did not 
want to lose the king. If he had abandoned 
them, they would have had the fear that comes 
to children in the dark. They could not yet 
imagine the State without a royal head. They 
had been accustomed to a monarchy and there 
could be no monarchy without a monarch. 

If the time should ever come when a change 
in the form of government would be desirable, 
the people then would decide what disposition 
should be made of him — they might even cut his 
head off — but that was another matter, that point 
had not yet been reached. For the present, the 
people were of one mind, the king must remain 
at home. 

La Fayette appealed to the crowd which had 
now grown to a multitude, and begged them to 
desist, but his eloquence went for naught. He 
turned to the National Guards and called upon 
them to secure for the king the right of way ; he 
threatened, he cajoled, he commanded, but the 
105 



DANTON 

soldiers laughed at his threats, turned a deaf ear 
to his flattery, and refused to obey his orders. 
Danton boldly combated him at every point and 
kept alive the courage of the mob. The mayor 
was sent for, but his efforts were as unavailing as 
the general's. Even the queen's tears did not 
touch the sympathy of the crowd. 

La Fayette galloped in hot haste to the Town 
Hall, but Danton was there before him and stren- 
uously opposed his demands. The general hur- 
ried back to the king, but during his absence the 
crowd had become more insistent than ever, and 
were growing angry, some of the leaders go- 
ing so far as even to insult the queen. 

For two hours the royal party sat in their car- 
riages, hoping to start, but at last, finding it im- 
possible to overcome the obstinacy of the crowd, 
they alighted and entered the palace vexed and 
humiliated. 

Danton played well his part as tribune of the 
people and completely discomfited La Fayette, his 
old-time enemy. The Easter season was spent in 
Paris. The king was now convinced that the 
only thing for him to do was to escape the king- 
dom. He was no longer ruler, he was a pris- 
oner. The Tuileries was not a palace, it was a 
dungeon. Louis had read carefully the history 
of James II of England, and believed that prince 
had lost his crown because he had left his king- 
dom, and it required considerable persuasion to 
get him to agree to such an enterprise, an enter- 
prise that meant the abandonment of his throne 
and of his capital. But now being convinced 
106 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

that not only was he deprived of his liberty, but 
that his life was in danger, he decided upon de- 
parture. Preparations were immediately made 
for the journey. It was enjoined that every pre- 
caution should be taken to keep the anticipated 
flight a secret. It would have been death to the 
undertaking if the public suspicion had been 
aroused. This time the king was not to go to St. 
Cloud, but, if possible, beyond the borders of 
France. He thought it better and safer to wear 
a crown outside the kingdom than within its lim- 
its. The time had come, he believed, when he 
could not save the throne without abandoning it. 
His intention was to flee from France and then 
invade it at the head of foreign armies, and, if 
possible, reclaim and recover his heritage by 
subduing his own subjects. There had been 
many plots arranged by his friends to effect his 
escape but they had all fallen by the way because 
of the king's indecision, but now after much con- 
sideration, he finally made up his mind to take 
the risk. Under the circumstances, from his 
point of view and in consideration of the subse- 
quent events in the Revolution, it was about the 
wisest thing to do. 

Correspondence was opened with General 
Bouille and arrangements were made to give the 
king military protection after he reached a cer- 
tain point in his journey. The plans were care- 
fully arranged for a quiet departure. The de- 
tails were left to the direction of Count Fersen, 
the devoted friend of Marie Antoinette. He was 
a Swede by birth, a finished courtier, an accom- 
107. 



DANTON 

plished man of the world, a soldier of distinction 
and as gallant a knight as ever drew sword in 
a queen's defense or breathed a soft tale into a 
woman's ear. He had been one of the darlings 
of Trianon and the queen's most ardent admirer. 
Indeed it was believed that he had played the 
role of lover and his protestations had been lis- 
tened to with favor by the queen. It was said 
that he had leaped half clad out of the window 
of the queen's bed-chamber early on the morning 
of the 6th of October when the mob attacked 
the palace at Versailles. The excitement at that 
time was so great and the royal family in so dan- 
gerous a situation, that it is hard to believe that 
a lover under such circumstances would have 
spent the night with his mistress. The story 
contradicts itself. 

The queen herself was to blame for much of 
this idle gossip. Her conduct in the past had 
been inconsiderate, she had ignored many of the 
conventionalities of life and had often shown a 
defiant indifference to public opinion, especially 
during the periods of her sojourn at Trianon. It 
goes without saying, however, that Fersen was 
devoted to the queen and was willing to forfeit 
his life, if necessary, in her defense. 

He was in Stockholm when the plan of escape 
was agreed upon and he hastily came to Paris 
at the request of the king. He was exactly the 
man for such an adventure as this on hand, and 
he entered upon it with all the zeal of his nature. 

He took two friends into the secret, Mr. Quen- 
tin Crawford and a Mrs. Sullivan, and it was ar- 
108 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

ranged that they should contract for the imme- 
diate construction of a commodious traveling- 
vehicle, known in those days as a Berline, large 
enough to accommodate six persons. " It was a 
solid, well-built carriage, painted black and green, 
with the perch and the wheels the customary yel- 
low," and drawn by eight horses. General 
Bouille, who was to take the king under his pro- 
tection if he should reach the frontier, had urged 
him to use two light English coaches, but Louis 
persisted in packing the whole family into one 
conveyance. 

The queen, of course, had to make every prep- 
aration for the trip and, womanlike, she could not 
travel without a specially prepared wardrobe. 
" No queen can stir without new clothes," and 
so maids and sempstresses were set to work to 
prepare the royal outfit. " Dame Campan 
whisks assiduous to this mantua maker and to 
that; and there is clipping of frocks and gowns, 
upper clothes and under, great and small; such 
a clipping and sewing as — might have been dis- 
pensed with . . . But the whims of women 
and queens must be humored." The queen acted 
as if she were about starting on a pleasure tour 
instead of attempting to flee for her life. 

While these preparations were going on, gos- 
sip in the palace began to whisper, and curiosity 
and suspicion were needlessly, foolishly, aroused. 
News of what was being done reached the ears 
of La Fayette and a closer watch, temporarily, 
was kept upon the king. When La Fayette 
questioned him in relation to what he had heard, 
109 



DANTON 

Louis emphatically declared that he had no in- 
tention of leaving France. 

At last everything was in readiness for the 
journey. The wardrobe was completed, the 
trunks were packed, the Berline was built, and 
the attendants were chosen. Baroness de Korf, 
a Russian lady, secured the passport that was 
to give the right of way over the public roads and 
across the frontier. When it was applied for 
the Baroness represented herself as a German 
lady going to her home in Frankfort. It was 
signed by Montmorin, minister of foreign affairs, 
and read as follows: 

" De par le roi. Mandons de laisser passer 
Madame la Baronne de Korf se rendant a Frank- 
fort avec ses deux enfants une femme de cham- 
bre, un valet de chambre et trots domestiques. 
" Le Ministre des Affaires Etrangeres, 

" Montmorin." 

The party were to start on the night of the 
19th of June, but unfortunately, the departure 
was postponed until the 20th. This was a dis- 
astrous mistake and ruined the project. The 
plan was that they should travel to Montmedy 
by the shortest route, and there be met by Bouille, 
who would give them protection until they were 
safe in a strange land and under the folds of a 
foreign flag. 

The night of the 20th of June, 1791, was 
clear and starlit. Camille Desmoulins in refer- 
ring to it said : " The evening was most tran- 
110 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

quil. On going home from the Jacobin Club 
about eleven o'clock with Danton and several 
other companions, we met only a single patrol 
the whole distance. The streets seemed to me 
so deserted that I could not help remarking the 
fact." 

Just before midnight while the inmates of the 
palace were asleep and the guards were dozing at 
their posts, the king, the queen and those who 
were with them in the secret were astir. The 
children were awakened and dressed, the dauphin 
was disguised in the apparel of a girl. He was 
enjoined to keep quiet, but whispering into the 
ear of his governess he asked : " Then is this a 
play ? " Oh, yes, my little prince, it is somewhat 
of a comedy with the sequel of a dreadful tragedy. 

Madame Tourzel, the governess, led the chil- 
dren quietly through the empty corridors of the 
palace. They passed out of a door that by pre- 
vious arrangement had been left unfastened and 
unguarded, and came into an unfrequented court- 
yard. Here was Count Fersen disguised as a 
coachman sitting on the box of a hackney. After 
the governess and the children entered the con- 
veyance, they were driven to the Petit Carrousel, 
the place of rendezvous agreed upon. At this 
point they were joined, at once, by the king and 
Madame Elizabeth. The queen was late in ar- 
riving, having lost her way in the darkness of the 
night while groping through streets with which 
she was not familiar. She seldom, if ever, had 
traveled afoot through Paris and to her the ave- 
nues were a labyrinth. It is said that La 
in 



DANTON 

Fayette's carriage drove directly past her, the 
lights flashing in her face while she crouched in 
an archway. " She had even the whim to 
touch a spoke of it with her badine — little magic 
rod which the beautiful then wore." 

At last they all met, took their seats in the car- 
riage and began their flight. The hoofs of the 
horses as they clattered along awakened the 
echoes of the street. Surely the noise will dis- 
turb the sleepers, for the quiet of the night was 
never so broken. The king is galloping out of 
his capital! 

Not a soul in all Paris knew or even suspected 
that he was escaping. Here and there a stray 
light from a window threw its dart into the night 
showing that all Paris was not asleep, but no 
citizen made an inquiry, no patrol gave an alarm, 
no sentry stopped the way or called a halt. 
The fugitives passed through the gates of the city 
into the open country. They found the Berline 
awaiting them just beyond the barriers. The 
hackney coach was overturned into a ditch and 
abandoned. Fersen gave the word and off they 
started for Bondy, the first relay station out of 
Paris, just seven miles distant from the capital. 
When they reached this village the horses were 
changed and a fresh start was made. Here Fer- 
sen left the party. He begged the king to be al- 
lowed to continue on the journey, but Louis was 
obdurate and the gallant count rode back to Paris 
sending his god-speed after the queen. He sub- 
sequently reached Brussels in safety. When 
Louis was decided it was always at the wrong 

112 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

time. Had Fersen been permitted to accompany 
the royal party, the mistakes that were made 
might have been avoided. He was brave, prac- 
tical and sensible, a soldier and a man of the 
world, and he possessed the wit and the resources 
that would have been of use in a crisis. All the 
details of the preparations had been arranged by 
him and the plans were successful so long as he 
was in charge. 

The enterprise now had no leader and it blun- 
dered along every step of the way. The attend- 
ants were loyal but stupid. The hours were 
speeding, there was no time to tarry and so the 
horses were driven under the lash. 

It was a lovely summer night, one of the short- 
est of the year, and before the second inn was 
reached, the sun was already dappling the eastern 
sky and the day was beginning to dawn. The 
atmosphere had been warm and close, but the 
morning air, coming out of the shadows of night, 
was cool and refreshing; it rustled the leaves on 
the trees, awakened the songs of birds, and 
wafted in every direction the perfume of flowers 
and the sweet incense of growing crops. Old 
chanticleer in every barnyard rang out in clarion 
tones a welcome to the morn. All life was soon 
astir. The lowing cattle in the meadows turned 
their faces homewards and waited patiently at 
the stile. The milkmaid passed the coach on her 
way to bring in the cows. The ploughman 
drove his team afield and following him slowly 
came the drowsy farm boy, as yet only half 
awake, who, rubbing his eyes, stared with curious 
8 113 



DANTON 

surprise at the great coach and its occupants. 
The sun was up and all nature was responding to 
the magic touch of day. Louis was exultant. 

Come, lads! put spurs to your steeds and gal- 
lop apace! an extra coin for your trouble. The 
promised " tip " produced the desired effect and 
the great coach traveled along the road at an un- 
usually rapid pace. 

It had been some time since Louis had sniffed 
the country air and it acted upon him like a tonic, 
and as the miles were rolled off and the distance 
increased between him and his capital, his spirits 
rose correspondingly, and he felt the ecstasy of 
a new-born liberty. He began to chuckle over 
the success of the expedition and wondered what 
the sensations of La Fayette would be when he 
discovered that his prisoners had fled. 

He insisted upon poking his fat face out of the 
window at every relay station, confident that he 
could not be recognized through his disguise. 

Every minute passed and every mile traveled 
made the escape more certain, so on they sped as 
rapidly as so cumbersome a vehicle, " with its 
mountain of band boxes," could speed. The con- 
stant relays enabled them to travel at a good pace 
and to keep up a fair average. 

The travelers on the highways and the peas- 
ants in the fields turned to watch the vehicle 
till it passed out of sight, then they pursued their 
way or resumed their toil and wondered why the 
rich folk were in so desperate a hurry. They as- 
certained the reason for the haste the next day. 

At Montmirail a trace broke and considerable 
114 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

time was lost, upwards of an hour, it is said, in 
making repairs, repairs that would have taken an 
experienced horseman or driver not more than 
twenty minutes at the most. This precious time 
was frittered away by bunglers when every mo- 
ment counted in this race for life. Fersen's skill 
here would have been of incalculable service. 

It is related that, at this point, Louis dis- 
mounted and walked up the hill " to enjoy the 
blessed sunshine " and that he was so slow in 
returning that he lengthened the delay. 

All day the journey continued, town after town 
was passed without interference and the destina- 
tion of the royal travelers was not far distant. 
There was now almost a day's journey between 
Louis and his enemies and every mile-stone that 
was passed lessened the distance between him and 
his friends. He was all but in touch with safety. 
The royal party would soon be under the protec- 
tion of Bouille and his army. Hope was in 
every heart, there apparently was no question 
now as to their happy deliverance. The after- 
noon was wearing late when they reached Cha- 
lons. The postmaster at this town recognized 
the king, but being a royalist he gave no sign. 
It is said he even assisted in hitching the horses, 
in order that there should be no delay in starting. 

Wherever the party had stopped, their con- 
duct and appearance had aroused suspicion. 
Their anxiety at every station to get away as 
quickly as possible ; the speed at which the horses 
were driven; the presence of three body guards; 
the lavish manner in which the couriers spent 
"5 



DANTON 

money, and the fat face of Louis at the window 
set people to guessing and the party no sooner 
left a station than a general discussion ensued. 

Following the Berline was a carriage occupied 
by two ladies, whom the queen had insisted upon 
taking along. This also started inquiry. The 
next day when the news was abroad of the arrest 
of the king, there was scarcely a person who 
had seen him in any town through which he 
had passed that did not say to his neighbor, 
" I told you so." What a great opportunity 
they all had missed. If any one of them had 
captured the king, his name would have been 
written in the pages of history for all time. 
There had been but a narrow line between any 
one of them and fame, but they had all made up 
their minds too late. They had failed to act 
when glory stared them in the face. Opportuni- 
ties make renown but the opportunities have to be 
seized. 

Troops under the orders of Bouille had been 
posted along the road from Pont-Sommeville, 
the first town beyond Chalons. The soldiers had 
created great anxiety among the people, who 
curiously inquired the reason for the presence, 
in a peaceful community, of this armed force. 
" We are waiting for a treasure and are to guard 
it," was the answer. 

The king was six hours late according to the 
schedule, and the excitement of the people was 
increasing to such a degree that the officers in 
command gradually withdrew the troops, fear- 
ing that the plans had miscarried. 
116 






THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

When Louis reached Pont-Sommeville, the first 
town where he expected to meet the troops, his 
heart failed him when he realized that the ar- 
rangements had not been carried out. In desper- 
ate resolve he urged the drivers to lose no time 
in reaching the next town and the horses were 
put to their top-speed. It was nine o'clock when 
the travelers drove up to the inn at Sainte-Mene- 
hould. The horses hot and thirsty, their heads 
drooping, their bodies covered with a white foam 
of sweat, gave evidence of the furious gait at 
which they had been driven. This of itself 
created a suspicion, for why should horses pull- 
ing so heavy a coach be compelled to travel at so 
hot a pace? 

As usual Louis poked his head out of the win- 
dow at the very moment when every precaution 
should have been taken and at once he was recog- 
nized by Drouet, postmaster of the town and a 
rabid republican. Drouet had served at one time 
as a dragoon at Versailles and he saw at once 
that the companion of Louis was the queen. 
Some say that the inn-keeper was paid for the 
hire and fodder of the horses in a new fifty-franc 
assignat, and Drouet comparing the portrait on 
the note with the face in the coach was convinced 
that the occupant was none other than the king. 
The doughty republican took in the situation at 
a glance. The report was soon put in circula- 
tion, the news spreading like wild-fire. The ex- 
cited people ran from every direction towards the 
inn, and somebody to add to the general alarm, 
rang the town bell. But the royal party were 

"7 



DANTON 

allowed to proceed and they started for Cler- 
mont at full gallop. 

Night was rapidly advancing and the fugitives 
plunged with desperation into the darkness. It 
was indeed now a race for life. Not a moment 
was to be lost for all depended upon outstripping 
the couriers who surely would carry the news to 
the next town, arouse the people and detain the 
coach. 

Now axle, spoke, tongue and trace hold to- 
gether, let not a bolt fly from its place. Urge 
the steeds, postillion, with whip and spur, but 
hold a steady hand on the reins, for if a horse 
stumble or a strap break, all may be lost. To- 
night a king rides for his life. 

At Sainte-Menehould, Captain D'Andoins, an 
officer in the army of Bouille, yet neither brave 
nor sensible, was in command of a detachment of 
troopers, but when the royal party arrived, he 
was so intimidated by the attitude of the people, 
that he was afraid to act. The National Guards 
turned out and threatened him with arrest if he 
attempted to aid the king. After the departure 
of the coach the captain mustered up some cour- 
age and ordered his dragoons to mount and fol- 
low, but the people surrounded the barracks, 
closed the stables and fraternized with the sol- 
diers, who being plied with liquor became not 
only intoxicated but insubordinate. 

This was the first body of troops the king had 

seen, but under a hesitating, if not a cowardly 

officer, they were of no practical use. Only one 

dragoon, a quartermaster in rank, and Lagache 

118 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

by name, displayed any resolution and courage. 
Mounting his horse, holding the reins between 
his teeth, and taking a pistol in each hand, he 
put spurs to his charger and dashed through the 
crowd scattering the people right and left in 
every direction. He was fired at and wounded, 
but he never drew rein until he reached Cler- 
mont and gave information of what had trans- 
pired in Sainte-Menehould. 

It may be interesting to know that Lagache 
afterwards won distinction in the campaigns of 
Napoleon, was medaled time and again for 
bravery on the field, was promoted to a general- 
ship and ennobled under the empire. His name 
is chiseled into the enduring marble of the im- 
perial "Arc de Triomphe" and his glory made 
immortal. 

After the fugitives left Sainte-Menehould, 
Drouet mounted a horse and, familiar with every 
inch of the road, followed the royal coach with 
the speed of light. As he galloped, he spread the 
news on all sides. Little did he know that he 
was riding to fame and that he was making for 
himself a place in the world's history. 

The king reached Clermont before the arrival 
of Drouet, who was following the royal party 
like a spectre, but had not yet overtaken them. 
No time was wasted in changing the relays and 
the coach started on its way at once. A flying 
horseman dashed past the Berline and looking in 
the window shouted, " You are known." " Is 
he friend or foe ? " anxiously inquired the 
queen. 

119 



DANTON 



The stars were shining but dimly and the dark- 
ness as the night advanced increased every mo- 
ment. The very air was filled with terror, for 
the bells from the steeples in all the neighboring 
villages were ringing the tocsin, arousing the 
people and greatly adding to the tumult. 

No soldiers were in sight but the king's party 
were getting every moment closer to the army of 
Bouille and they knew that their only safety 
was in reaching his protection. The queen 
pressed the dauphin to her bosom and for once 
in his life the king was anxious and excited. 

Before leaving Clermont the post boys were 
directed in a loud voice by the body guard to 
drive to Varennes, so that when Drouet arrived 
in the village, he received just the information 
he desired, for upon reaching the crossroads he 
might have taken the one leading to Verdun in- 
stead of that to Varennes. In fact the statement 
is from his own lips that it was his original inten- 
tion to go to the former town if he had not been 
informed by the fugitives as to the route they 
were to take. Had he gone to Verdun the king, 
no doubt, would have escaped. 

When Varennes was reached at 1 1 130 p. m., 
the relay of horses could not be found. The king 
and the queen in consequence alighted from the 
Berline and walked through the town to look for 
the post boys. Frightened, anxious and excited, 
they lost their presence of mind and became be- 
wildered. If they had crossed the bridge of the 
river that divides the town they would have 
found the horses awaiting them. 

120 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

It was now approaching midnight and the vil- 
lage was sound asleep. There were no people 
abroad and so the king knocked at the doors of 
several houses, in some of them lights were burn- 
ing. He inquired of the inmates if they knew 
anything about a relay of horses waiting for the 
arrival of a coach. 

While he was seeking this information, Drouet 
dashed into the town at full gallop, the clatter 
of his horse's hoofs making such a din that win- 
dows were raised and night-capped folk asked the 
reason for the excitement. As the rider passed 
the royal coach he shouted to the post boys: 
" In the name of the nation, dare to go no fur- 
ther, you drive the king." He reached the town 
inn, the " Bras d'Or," leaped from his horse, 
rushed into the house, found the landlord who 
had not yet retired, took him aside, and whis- 
pered into his ear, " Comrade, are you a patriot? " 
" Yes," was the answer. " Then let me tell you 
that the king is escaping from the kingdom." 
And now see Boniface bustling as he never did 
for the jolliest toper. A company of young men 
had been dining at the inn and were about to 
break up their feast when Drouet told them the 
news and appealed to them as patriots to give the 
alarm, call out the people, muster the guards and 
prevent the escape of his majesty. 

The mayor of the town was awakened, and his 
children, frightened almost to death, ran into the 
street and not knowing what else to do began 
shrieking the cry of fire. Drouet, who seems 
to have had a clear head amidst all the tumult and 

121 



DANTON 

excitement, hurried with some companions to the 
bridge, which had not yet been crossed by the 
king's party, there overturned a wagon and thus 
most effectually blocked the way. The journey 
of the royal fugitives had suddenly come to an 
end. 

The troops of Bouille that had been posted in 
the town mingled with the crowd, were served 
with wine, and were soon won over to the peo- 
ple's cause. It was an easy matter to convince 
them, after the facts were explained, that they 
should take no hand in the affair. The com- 
mands of their superior officer were not heeded 
and, deciding at once upon his own safety, he rode 
away in hot haste to the camp of Bouille to re- 
port the insubordination and disloyalty of the 
troops. 

The royal carriages were stopped at the en- 
trance to the bridge. They had traveled sixty- 
nine miles in twenty-two hours, a pretty fair 
showing when all things are considered. The 
mayor of the town, Sausse by name and a grocer 
by occupation, demanded to see the passport. 
The king positively declared that he was none 
other than M. Durand and so emphatic was he 
in his tone and manner that he raised a doubt in 
the mind of Sausse, who hesitated to act, fearing 
he might be held responsible if he should exceed 
his authority. He was at once assured, how- 
ever, by Drouet that there could be no question 
as to the identity of Louis. The mayor then 
politely, with hat in hand, invited the king to 
accept his hospitality for the night. Louis in- 

122 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

sisted upon proceeding on his way and ordered 
the drivers to go on, but it was no use, the peo- 
ple would not yield. Louis appealed to them 
but in vain. Had Fersen been there he would 
have been a host in himself, a stern command 
backed by the courage of a determined man 
would have been worth a score of timid requests 
or kindly tempered appeals. " For five and 
thirty minutes by the king's watch the Berline 
is at a dead stand. Round hat arguing with 
churn boots, tired horses slobbering their meal 
and water." 

Louis again insisted upon proceeding, but some 
armed men in the crowd pointed their guns at 
him, and he lost no time in surrendering. He 
and his family took refuge in the shop of the 
grocer and sat on boxes and barrels till the morn- 
ing dawned. Worn out with the excitement and 
the anxieties of the day, the dauphin slept. Poor 
little fellow ! his troubles were only beginning, he 
was yet to drink the cup of sorrow to its dregs. 
It makes the heart ache to read the story of his 
sad and wretched life. 

The villagers and peasants standing around 
discussed openly the question of the king's iden- 
tification. "Oh, we know who you are," some of 
the men exclaimed in addressing Louis. " Then 
if you do," said Marie Antoinette sharply, with 
her usual indiscretion, " speak to him with the 
respect which is his due." 

For some time the king endeavored to conceal 
his identity, but at last finding there was no 
longer any use in attempting to deceive the peo- 
123 



DANTON 

pie, he admitted the truth. He then changed 
his manner and pathetically appealed to the 
sympathies of the bystanders, declaring that it 
was not his intention to desert France but to take 
up his residence at Montmedy; that he had left 
Paris because his life there had been in constant 
peril. He begged most earnestly to be permitted 
to proceed, and solemnly asserted that he would 
not betray those who at this crisis of his life would 
trust him. The queen, too, personally appealed 
to Madame Sausse and although she softened the 
heart of the woman she could not weaken her 
resolution. " You are thinking of the king," 
said the woman, " and I am thinking of Monsieur 
Sausse; each for her own husband." Just before 
daybreak the royal party ascended the narrow 
corkscrew staircase that led to the upper floors of 
the mayor's house. Under the windows the 
crowd shouted, " Back to Paris ! " Louis was 
hungry, and called for bread and cheese and a 
bottle of Burgundy. What a contrast between 
him and his queen. Lamartine in speaking of 
her says : " Rage, terror, despair, waged so ter- 
rible a conflict in her mind that her hair which 
had been auburn on the previous evening was in 
the morning white as snow." 

About this time officers of the royal troops be- 
gan to arrive and they imparted courage to the 
king. Choiseul and Goguelat forced their way 
through the crowd, reached his side and bravely 
offered their services, declaring they were ready 
to draw their swords, to rally the troops and cut 
124 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

their way out. They told him that if he would 
mount a horse he could, with a sabre, carve his 
road to liberty. " If I were alone I would do 
what you suggest," said Louis, " but you must 
bear in mind that by such a course I would en- 
danger the lives of the queen, my sister and my 
children." The king has been criticised for his 
timidity at this time, but few men under the cir- 
cumstances would have taken such a risk, and he 
would have been a poltroon had he attempted to 
escape by the desertion of his family. 

A brave officer named Deslon, five leagues dis- 
tant from Varennes, heard of the king's plight. 
With sixty hussars he covered the distance in two 
hours and presenting himself to the king asked 
for orders. " I have none to give," said the dis- 
consolate Louis. " If you can reach Bouille, tell 
him I am a prisoner. I suspect that he cannot 
do anything for me, but I ask him to do what 
he can." Deslon, heavy-hearted, rode away. 

Bouille also started for Varennes, but meeting 
Deslon on the road was informed of the condi- 
tion of affairs and at once retraced his steps. It 
was all over with him as it was with the king. 
The project that meant so much for both of them 
had failed; the plans had miscarried. Louis 
intended to make Bouille a marshal of France, 
and had brought with him a baton for the pur- 
pose of conferring the honor upon his friend and 
rescuer, but they never met. Louis was taken 
back to his capital and Bouille, humiliated by the 
failure, discarded and condemned by the emi- 
125 



DANTON 

grants, withdrew from public view and in a for- 
eign land and among strangers ate the bitter 
bread of disappointment. He was censured for 
a failure for which he was not in any way re- 
sponsible. 



126 



CHAPTER IX 

PARIS AFTER THE FLIGHT OF THE KING LA 

FAYETTE IN PERIL LA FAYETTE DENOUNCED 

BY DANTON AT THE JACOBINS 

Early in the morning of the 21st, Paris was 
startled by the news that the king had fled. 

Baron Thiebault in his Memoirs writes : 
" When I awoke before eight o'clock, the streets 
of Paris were resounding only with the cries of 
the usual street venders, and with the noise of a 
few heavy vehicles. Presently a murmur was 
heard like the roar of a wave driven by a tempest. 
I leapt from my bed and had scarcely opened my 
window when I heard the cry repeated from 
mouth to mouth : ' The king is gone ! The 
king is gone ! ' " 

" In the name of God who is responsible for 
this misfortune ? " cried the people. 

The streets were soon thronged with excited 
multitudes and, to add to the tumult, every 
steeple began to peal forth an alarm and the roll 
of drums mustering the troops resounded in every 
quarter of the city. Danton hurried to the Club 
of the Cordeliers to quiet the fears of his follow- 
ers and to urge that the time had now come to 
arouse a public sentiment against the further con- 
tinuance of the monarchy. The Palais Royal 
127 



DANTON 

rang with rumors, immense crowds gathered 
there and all was confusion, bewilderment. 
While the people were discussing in alarm the 
consequences of the king's flight, a man dressed 
in a threadbare great coat leaped upon a table 
and said : " Citizens : Listen to a tale which 
shall not be a long one and draw from it a moral. 
A certain Neapolitan once upon a time, while tak- 
ing his evening walk, was startled by the astound- 
ing intelligence that the pope was dead. He had 
hardly recovered from his surprise when he was 
informed that the King of Naples was no more. 
' Surely,' he exclaimed, ' the sun of heaven must 
vanish at such a combination of fatalities.' But 
alas ! it did not end here for immediately the news 
was announced that the Archbishop of Palermo 
had just expired. Overcome by these disasters 
he hurried home, sought his bed, but could not 
sleep. In the morning he was startled by a 
rumbling noise which he recognized at once to be 
the motion of the wooden instrument which makes 
macaroni. * Aha ! ' he cried, starting up, ' the 
pope is dead — the King of Naples is dead — the 
Bishop of Palermo is dead — yet my neighbor, the 
baker, still makes macaroni.' Come, my fellow 
citizens, mourn not, fear not, the lives of these 
great men are not so indispensable after all ! " 
The man in the great coat jumped down and dis-. 
appeared. The meaning of his sermon was un- 
derstood, a broad smile spread over the faces of 
his audience and the people took fresh courage. 
The crowd swarmed around the Tuileries and 
every moment their anger increased. The rabble 
128 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

from the slums gathered, pikes in hand, and 
threatened destruction to the palace. It was in- 
vaded, the doors of the royal apartments were 
forced. A fruit woman sat in the queen's bed 
and offered her plums and cherries for sale, de- 
claring that the time had come when the poor 
should take their ease. The palace belonged to 
the people, the lawful tenants had abandoned the 
premises, without notice to the owners, and the 
latter were simply claiming and enjoying their 
own. 

The women with a keen curiosity looked into 
the closets and tried on the garments of the 
queen. One of her caps was placed on the head 
of a young girl, but she snatched it off, threw 
it on the ground, and indignantly trampled it 
under foot, declaring she would not have her 
forehead sullied by such a head-dress. 

The mob would let no one disturb the toys 
and the books of the little dauphin and they re- 
mained in his nursery just as he left them. 
There is always a chord of sympathy running 
through the hearts of the people; it has only to 
be touched aright to make it respond. 

The walls of the Tuileries were placarded with 
offers of a small reward to be paid to any one 
who would bring back the unclean animals that 
had escaped. 

Louis by his departure had abandoned his 
friends to the savagery of the mob. Especially 
did he jeopard the life of his minister, Mont- 
morin, who only a short while before, June ist, 
had addressed a letter to the Assembly, in which 
P 129 



DANTON 

he had affirmed " on his responsibility, on his 
life, and on his honor," that the king had never 
thought of leaving France. He also imperiled 
the safety of both Bailly and La Fayette, who 
were his custodians and who had given every 
assurance to the people, upon the word of the 
king himself, that he had no intention of quitting 
the capital. Bailly and Montmorin, of course, 
came in for a share of the public abuse, but it 
was upon La Fayette chiefly that the suspicion 
of the people fell. They openly insulted him in 
the streets and charged him with connivance in 
having been a part of the plan. " You are false 
to us," they cried, " you are a traitor to the Revo- 
lution." He appealed to their generosity, de- 
clared his ignorance of the purpose of the king, 
and denounced his conduct as infamous. Dan- 
ton lost no opportunity to increase the suspicion 
of the people and to discredit the general's loy- 
alty. La Fayette displayed considerable tact in 
soothing the public temper, for he smilingly said 
when the complaints were loudest, " My friends, 
you forget that you all derive a personal benefit 
from the king's flight. His income is no longer 
to be paid out of the public revenues, and by the 
suppression of the civil list you save twenty sous 
each." The crowd quickly saw the point and ap- 
plauded. It was strange he was not torn to 
pieces, for the people were exasperated beyond 
measure. He had time and again laughed at 
their fears and had denied every rumor in rela- 
tion to the king's leaving the kingdom. He had 
placed implicit confidence in the royal word and 
130 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

was grossly deceived. La Fayette was an honest 
man and as such was prone to place too much de- 
pendence on the assertions and declarations of 
those whose interest it was to deceive him and 
to break the promises they made. 

There really was no ground to suspect La Fay- 
ette, for no one in the kingdom had less of the 
confidence of the king and the queen. He was 
about the last man to whom they would have im- 
parted the secret, or on whom they would have 
placed any reliance; but an excited people were 
looking for a scapegoat and they were not in the 
mood to weigh facts. 

La Fayette rose to the full stature of a man 
during these perils ; his serenity, his courage were 
admirable. He mingled with the crowds and 
saved one of his officers, the Due d'Aumont, from 
the hands of the mob that had threatened his 
massacre. " He cast himself with calm audacity 
amidst the people to grasp again, at the peril of 
his life, the confidence that he had lost." Al- 
though covered with reproaches and charged 
with perfidy, he showed no wavering, no weak- 
ness in his conduct and " thus recovered by cour- 
age the dominion which he would have lost had 
he hesitated." He had the audacity of honesty 
and the composure that reflects the clear con- 
science. 

" He is gone," cried Freron, " this imbecile 
king, this perjured monarch. She is gone, this 
wretched queen who to the lasciviousness of Mes- 
salina unites the insatiable thirst for blood that 
devoured Medea. Evil genius of France, the 
131 



DANTON 

soul of this conspiracy." Of course the col- 
umns of " The Friend of the People " teemed 
with abuse. Marat clamored for the death of 
Bailly and La Fayette; all the scoundrels of the 
staff, all the traitors in the Assembly. The Aus- 
trian woman, he said, seduced La Fayette in the 
night. Louis, disguised in a priest's robe, fled 
with the dauphin and now laughs at the folly of 
the Parisians and ere long will swim in their 
blood. " People," he cried exultantly, " behold 
the loyalty, the honor, the religion of kings. 
Remember, if you will, the story of Henry III 
and the Duke of Guise. At the same table they 
broke bread and pledged their friendship; at the 
same altar they received the holy sacrament and 
made their vows of eternal 'loyalty, but no sooner 
had they quitted the sanctuary, than the king dis- 
tributed poniards to his followers, sent for the 
duke to come to his cabinet and there calmly 
witnessed his cruel murder. Trust then to the 
oaths of princes ! " 

La Fayette, in a measure having calmed the 
fears and the suspicions of the people, hurried 
to the Assembly and, mounting the tribune, de- 
manded to be heard. He impressed the deputies 
with the truth of his words. He solemnly 
affirmed that he had taken every precaution 
against such an occurrence; that he knew noth- 
ing of the plot and never for a moment imagined 
that the king, after his positive declarations, could 
be so base as to deceive those whose confidence 
he had sought and whose doubts he had allayed. 

The general also thought it prudent on the 
132 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

side of personal safety to attend the meeting of 
the Jacobins. There was nothing better than to 
beard the lion in his den. When he entered the 
hall of the Jacobins, Danton was speaking and, 
leaving the line of discussion, the orator turned 
suddenly on La Fayette and assailed him most 
bitterly. " You have deceived us, you swore the 
king should not leave us. Either you have be- 
trayed your country or you are stupid enough to 
have stood sponsor for a person whose confidence 
you did not have, and for whom you could not 
answer. How was it that the very same men 
who were on guard when the king tried to go 
to St. Cloud on the 18th of April, were on guard 
last night when the king fled? In the most 
favorable view that can be taken of the case, you 
are incompetent to command. I will leave the 
tribune, for I have said enough." 

Danton was enraged to such a degree against 
La Fayette, whom he charged with negligence, 
incompetency or treason, that he imperiled the 
general's personal safety. 

While the conservatives and the reactionists 
were endeavoring to soothe the public temper, 
Danton was inflaming it by his impassioned 
harangues. He had a most bitter dislike for La 
Fayette because of old scores, but he also had 
no exalted opinion of his capability. He con- 
sidered him weak, unstable, vain, and inordi- 
nately ambitious to secure popularity, and fur- 
ther, at this point, he doubted his loyalty. La 
Fayette took the abuse complacently without 
making any reply, trusting that time would prove 
133 



DANTON 

his innocence, but his composure only irritated 
and increased the anger of Danton. 

Camille Desmoulins in describing the events 
of this day said that while on his way to the 
Jacobins he met La Fayette on the Quai Voltaire. 
" Convinced of the necessity of rallying round a 
chief, I yielded to the impulse that drew me to- 
wards the white horse. ' Monsieur,' said I, in 
the midst of the crowd, * for more than a year I 
have constantly spoken ill of you. This is the 
moment to convict me of falsehood. Prove that 
I am a calumniator, render me execrable, cover 
me with infamy and save the State.' La Fayette 
answered warmly while pressing my hand, * All 
goes well! The conduct of the king is infa- 
mous.' " 

Camille then hurried to the Club of the Jaco- 
bins. When he entered the hall, Robespierre was 
in the tribune delivering one of his characteristic 
speeches. Caesar, Antony, Lepidus, Brutus and 
Cassius were mustered into service; conspiracies 
were unveiled; patriots were in imminent danger 
of assassination; foreign legions were advancing 
towards the gates of the capital. The orator, 
carried away by his emotions, was willing to sac- 
rifice himself upon his country's altar. " I 
know," he cried, " the fate that awaits me and 
I shall look at death as a mercy if it prevents 
me witnessing my country's misfortunes." Men 
sprang to their feet and cheered the orator to 
the echo. " We will die with you," exclaimed 
Camille, with his accustomed enthusiasm, and 
extending his arms towards the speaker. u Con- 
134 






THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

trolled by his impulses," says Lamartine, " he 
passed from the embrace of La Fayette into that 
of Robespierre, like a courtesan." 

After the flight of the king, the Assembly di- 
rected his arrest and passed a decree of suspen- 
sion. He had voluntarily abandoned the king- 
dom ; therefore, it was asked : why should he 
longer reign? The throne was empty; why not 
establish a free government? was the cry. Now 
was developed and nurtured for the first time in 
the heart of all France, a longing for a republic. 
Louis himself had scattered and sown the seed. 
When the king abandoned the throne, Danton 
thought it was high time to destroy it. From 
this point he favored the absolute deposition of 
the king. 

To avoid the perils incident to a vacancy, it 
was argued by many that Louis had been ab- 
ducted. But this matter was immediately put at 
rest when his proclamation was read to the Con- 
vention. 

It was, under the circumstances, a most foolish 
document to leave behind. It would have been 
wiser had Louis sent it to the Assembly after 
reaching the vantage ground of safety. It an- 
nounced that he had been detained under duress, 
that he had been a prisoner in his own palace, 
and this being the case, he renounced his accept- 
ance of those decrees of the Assembly, which he 
had approved under constraint. 

The paper went on further to state that he had 
not been treated with the consideration to which 
as king he had been entitled; that his allowance 
135 



DANTON 

was not sufficient to meet his expenses and to 
enable him to maintain properly the dignity of 
his sacred office. " Want of due furniture in 
Tuileries palace; want of due cash in civil list; 
general want of cash, of furniture, of order; an- 
archy everywhere." 

The reading of the manifesto of the king in 
the Assembly was interrupted time and again by 
murmurs of indignation and shouts of laughter; 
especially was it derided when it related that 
" your -attachment to your king was reckoned 
among your virtues; this attachment is now 
changed into hatred, and homage into insult. 
From M. Necker down to the lowest of the rabble 
everyone has been king except the king himself. 
You have threatened to deprive me even of my 
empty title and to shut the queen up in a convent. 
My aunts were arrested when they wished, from 
religious motives, to journey to Rome, and my 
conscience has been time and again outraged. 
When I desired to go to St. Cloud, my horses 
were unharnessed and I was forcibly driven back 
into my palace." 

The Assembly, to show its utter contempt, took 
no action on the paper, but immediately proceeded 
with the order of the day. 



130 



CHAPTER X 

RETURN OF THE KING TO PARIS 

On the evening of the 22nd, news of the cap- 
ture of the king reached the capital. At this 
time Louis was on his way to Paris, having left 
Varennes on the morning of that day. 

Barnave, Petion, and Latour Marbourg were 
named as Commissioners by the Convention and 
were directed to start out at once to meet the 
king and escort him in the name of the nation to 
the capital. 

They repaired hastily to Eperney and met the 
procession just outside of the town. The com- 
missioners straightway assumed control and all 
orders emanated from them. 

On the night of the 23rd the king put up at 
the tavern in Dormans. A howling mob under 
the windows made the night hideous and with 
their shouts kept the royal travelers awake until 
daylight. Before leaving this town, Madame 
Tourzel, who had been riding with the king and 
the queen, was requested to take her seat in a 
second carriage with Latour Marbourg. Bar- 
nave and Petion rode with the royal family. 
Barnave occupied the back seat with the king and 
the queen, while Petion rode in front seated be- 
tween Madame Elizabeth and Madame Royale. 
137 



DANTON 

The dauphin was held alternately by his mother, 
his sister and his aunt. 

Latour Marbourg was a man of some distinc- 
tion; the personal friend of La Fayette and a 
royalist who was devoted to the king. He pur- 
posely rode with Madame Tourzel that his col- 
leagues might be brought into close contact with 
the royal family, hoping that their sympathies 
would be aroused by the sad spectacle of fallen 
greatness. His plan worked well in so far as 
Barnave was concerned, but it went awry as to 
Petion. Barnave was a barrister and was chosen 
as a deputy to the States-General from Grenoble. 
He was a man of superior talents and one of the 
most finished orators in the Assembly. He so 
moved the admiration of Mirabeau in the early 
sessions of that body, that the great tribune 
said of him : " It is a young tree which, how- 
ever, will mount high, if it be let to grow." The 
queen was surprised to find him so polite in de- 
portment, so thoughtful in his attentions, and of 
so superior an intelligence. So strongly did he 
impress her that she afterwards emphatically de- 
clared : " If ever power is again in our hands 
his pardon is already written on our hearts." He 
in turn was affected by her graceful dignity and 
his sympathies were stirred by her distress and 
humiliation. From this time he was devoted to 
the interests of the royal family. 

Petion, on the other hand, was stern and rude 
in manner and conduct, and openly in conversa- 
tion insulted the king. While eating his lunch- 
eon, he threw chicken bones out of the window 
138 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

past the faces of the ladies who were under 
his protection. In his Memoirs he was indecent 
enough to write that Madame Elizabeth, as pure 
and as pious a woman as ever lived, cast her eyes 
upon him with affection, and he believed that if 
they had been alone, she would have fallen into 
his arms and declared her love. 

At some places the royal party were received 
with honor and respect, but at most of the towns 
they were jeered and insulted by the populace. 
It was a long and weary ride, for Varennes is 
about seventy miles from Paris. The weather 
was hot, the roads were dusty, the crowds were 
dense and their temper was ugly. 

No king ever made so sad, so humiliating a 
journey through his state. Twice before Louis 
had been escorted by the mob to his capital. 
Once when he came to Paris from Versailles af- 
ter the fall of the Bastile, and again when he was 
carried a prisoner on the 6th of October, 1789, 
to the palace of the Tuileries; but those proces- 
sions were of little moment as compared with 
this one. They were revolutionary but not anti- 
monarchic. This time, he had been caught dis- 
guised as a valet, while attempting to sneak out 
of his kingdom; apprehended like a criminal, he 
was being taken back to his palace, but which 
from this time forth would be virtually a prison. 

Louis took this degradation as he took every- 
thing else, amiably, complacently; but language 
fails to describe, even faintly, the queen's agony 
of soul, the indignation she felt, but which she 
had to conceal, the shame, the despair, the hu- 
139 



DANTON 

miliation of her proud heart. " It was a Calvary 
of sixty leagues every step of which was a tor- 
ture." 

The people that crowded the roadside jeered 
and insulted the royal procession, but few kind 
words of welcome greeted the ears of the king. 
The constant cry was " Long live the nation." 

An old royalist, M. de Dampierre, approached 
the carriage to pay respect to his sovereign. He 
was seized at once and murdered in cold blood; 
the wheels of the king's coach almost passing 
over his bleeding form. 

A priest forced his way through the crowd 
and respectfully saluted the king; he was thrown 
down by the mob and it was with the greatest 
difficulty that the commissioners could save him 
from their brutality. " Tigers," cried Barnave, 
" have you ceased to be French? From a nation 
of brave men are you changed into a nation of 
cut-throats?" 

In the afternoon or the early evening of the 
25th of June, the procession entered Paris. 
" On Monday night royalty went ; on Saturday 
evening it returns." The streets were crowded, 
windows and housetops were filled, the trees were 
loaded with people, every inch of available space 
along the route of the procession was occu- 
pied. 

All the spectators kept their hats on, with the 
exception of a deputy named Guilhermy who re- 
mained bare-headed in spite of curses and threats. 
He was roughly jostled by the crowd but he 
threw his hat far over the heads of the people, 
140 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

and after this display of heroism he remained un- 
molested. 

The order was explicit and imperative that the 
royal party should be received in silence. Post- 
ers bore the inscription : " Whoever applauds 
the king will be flogged, whoever insults him 
will be hanged. 1 ' Paris was hushed, ominously 
hushed, the quiet only occasionally broken by the 
cry: "Long live the nation." The National 
Guards received the king with arms reversed but 
he was accorded no military honors. 

It was a sorry entry of a monarch into his cap- 
ital. The days had been when the city would 
have echoed with the cheers of a rejoicing popu- 
lace in giving him welcome, but now there was 
none in all that vast concourse of people, to pay 
him the slightest respect. Drouet was the hero 
of the hour; he had galloped into fame in a 
night. He rode in the procession and his appear- 
ance aroused the greatest enthusiasm. The 
warmth of his reception only made the coolness 
shown the king more marked by the contrast. 
Drouet must have been a man of remarkable 
decision. It is not everyone that would have pos- 
sessed his presence of mind and would have acted 
so decisively, under the circumstances, as he did. 

The country postmaster, however, had risen so 
high and so rapidly, that the sudden elevation 
made him dizzy. He received so much lauda- 
tion and attained so great a prominence that his 
head became somewhat turned and he annoyed 
his friends and the Assembly, to which body he 
was afterwards returned as a delegate, by his 
141 



DANTON 

constant reference to the affair. He had only- 
one theme and he never tired of repeating it until 
it grew 

" As tedious as a twice-told tale 
Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man." 

The palace of the Tuileries was, at last, 
reached. When the gardens were entered the 
mob made an attack upon the three gardes du 
corps, and they no doubt would have been mur- 
dered had they not been rescued by the commis- 
sioners. The royal family quickly sought the 
seclusion of their rooms. The first thought of 
the queen was to send a message to Count Fersen 
informing him that they were safe. Is it a won- 
der that she was thinking of some one other than 
her royal spouse, some one loyal and courageous 
upon whom she could depend, for how was it pos- 
sible for any woman of spirit to have respect 
for such a man as Louis? His indifference, 
his complacency, produced in the proud and im- 
pulsive heart of his wife a feeling of disgust. 
She is almost to be excused for seeking the ad- 
miration and regard of other men. Her tempta- 
tions were the result of her husband's weakness 
and inattention. 

Louis was no sooner in the palace, than he 
was troubled by his appetite, and as usual called 
for chicken. He does not induce our sympa- 
thies even when he is in dire distress. 

When La Fayette presented himself to the 
queen at the palace and politely placed himself 
under her orders, she insolently threw him her 
142 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

keys exclaiming sneeringly. " You are our 
jailer. I give you the custody of my goods." 
"Oh! your majesty," said the general in his 
gentlest tones, and bowing with the greatest cour- 
tesy, " you well know I shall assume no such 
duty." 

The return of the king did not change the 
opinion of Danton, that it was time to lay the 
foundations for a republic and that the king's de- 
sertion of his throne and of his people was an ab- 
dication of his power. 

Every precaution was taken to prevent another 
attempt to escape, and the guard was in conse- 
quence doubled. Sentinels were placed at every 
door, all the approaches to the palace were 
guarded. Every movement of the king was 
watched, his steps were dogged, and so humili- 
ated was he by this system of espionage, that he 
did not speak to any one for several days. All 
the liberty the king had left to him was to stroll 
in the garden of the Tuileries in the early morn- 
ing before the park was open to the public. 

The queen too was seldom out of sight of the 
guards. Indeed she complained that her privacy 
was invaded even while she was dressing. At 
night when she slept the door of her bed-room 
was open. 

Matters in a short time quieted down, a re- 
action set in and the moderates made a determined 
effort to restore the king to popular favor. The 
people were happy in the fact that they had 
him once more in their midst. They did not 
know how much they needed him until they lost 
143 



DANTON 

him. They had been thrown into great confusion 
and excitement at the time of his escape, but they 
were soon to be convinced that they had gone 
to a great deal of trouble to recover that which 
they did not want, and after wrangling over the 
matter for a couple of years, they ended the dis- 
cussion by chopping off his head. 

The king prepared a report to be submitted 
to the Assembly and in this important work he 
was materially aided by Barnave. In his mes- 
sage Louis declared that it had never been his 
intention to leave the kingdom, that he had ef- 
fected no concert with foreigners, with his rela- 
tives nor with the emigrants. He also stated 
that he had chosen Montmedy as the place to 
which he was to retire, because being near the 
borders, it would have given him a better oppor- 
tunity to protect France from foreign invasion. 
The journey, he said, convinced him that the 
people favored the Constitution, and this fact he 
could never have ascertained had he remained in 
Paris. He also left his capital to show to the 
world that he was free to go and come as he 
pleased. Was there ever such a tissue of mis- 
statements, of falsehoods ? He had no more idea 
of going to Montmedy to remain, than of go- 
ing to heaven. How could any one believe he 
left Paris simply to convince the world that he 
was free to go and come as he pleased, in view 
of the methods of departure he had adopted? 
He had donned the garb of a menial, he had as- 
sumed a false name, his very passport was a 
counterfeit, a lie on its face. He had crept 
144 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

stealthily out of his palace in the dead of night. 
He had arranged with Bouille to be protected by 
his troops and he had told M. Valory that it was 
his intention to take refuge in the monastery at 
Orval, a town in the territory of the Austrians. 

The truth was he tried to sneak out of his king- 
dom. There may have been every justification 
in the world for his conduct, and if he had boldly 
admitted the facts and had forcibly given his 
reasons, he might have strengthened his cause. 
He would immeasurably have added to his repu- 
tation as a man, and to his honor as a king. 
Strange to say, too, the report was in contradic- 
tion of the statements made in the manifesto 
which he left behind, at the time of his departure. 

Marie Antoinette also supported the allegations 
made in the paper of the king, and declared that 
if it had been his intention to leave the kingdom, 
she would have persuaded him against such a 
course. The report, notwithstanding its incon- 
sistent statements, had a great effect in allaying 
the public temper. The people accepted it be- 
cause they were anxious to believe in the inno- 
cence of the king. 

What would have been the result if the king 
had succeeded in his attempted flight? The roy- 
alists believed his escape would have produced a 
civil war, and that it ultimately would have led 
to the invasion of France by the allies, for the 
purpose of restoring the monarchy. On the other 
hand the radicals were of opinion that they would 
have had a free field for the building of a re- 
public. The king's absence would have united 
W 145 



DANTON 

all the factions in support of the new or provi- 
sional government that would have been set up 
until the republic was firmly established, and if 
the king had attempted to recover by force that 
which he voluntarily abandoned, he would have 
aroused against him the patriotic sentiment of 
the whole nation. Louis would surely have been 
weaker out of the kingdom than in it. He would 
not have inspired enthusiasm in a strange land 
any more than he did at home. He had not the 
spirit of the bold crusader and if he had escaped 
from his kingdom he never by his own efforts 
could have recovered it. He was the last man in 
the world, by his appeals and resolution, to 
arouse Europe in his cause. By the greatest 
stretch of the imagination it is not possible to pic- 
ture him as flashing his sword and rallying his 
followers. Had he possessed the wit, the spirit, 
the resolution, the courage and the diplomacy of 
Henry of Navarre, he would not have been com- 
pelled to leave his kingdom. 

The allies might have undertaken an invasion 
but it would have been for the preservation of 
their own thrones rather than for the restora- 
tion of a Bourbon king. The moving cause that 
would have induced them to act would have been 
a desire to destroy a dangerous republic, rather 
than to effect the re-establishment of the French 
monarchy. Had Louis escaped, his life would no 
longer have been in danger, and his personal 
safety being assured, a different question would 
have arisen for the consideration of the allies. 
For it is one thing to attempt to succor a king 
146 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

whose life is in peril, and another to undertake 
to restore the throne which he has abandoned, 
and judging from the feeble efforts made by the 
allies and their failure to relieve the king, there 
is not much assurance that they would have suc- 
ceeded any better in effecting his restoration. 
His escape ought to have been, under the circum- 
stances, a blessing to France and to have resulted 
in the establishment of a republic. The Revolu- 
tion then, doubtless, would have been a differ- 
ent story. 

Napoleon thought it was a great error for the 
National Assembly to order his return. It would 
have been far better had they directed that he be 
allowed to proceed on his way. They then could 
have declared the throne vacant, could have at- 
tained their great object, the establishment of 
republican institutions, and above all, would have 
avoided the infamous crime of regicide. " By 
bringing him back they encumbered themselves 
with a sovereign whom they had no just reason 
for destroying and lost the chance of getting rid 
of the royal family without an act of cruelty." 

Danton was much enraged at the time of the 
king's flight, for he did not know how far-reach- 
ing were the plans, nor could he surmise the real 
purpose of the conspirators. But after the ex- 
citement subsided, he believed it would have been 
much better for France had Louis effected his 
escape, for then the republic would have been 
sooner and more firmly established. The volun- 
tary abandonment of the throne would have 
united the factions in a common purpose, and if 
i47 



DANTON 

Louis had attempted by force of arms to recover 
his power, he would have had to assume the role 
of invader. 

Danton at this time was the leader, the repre- 
sentative of the ultra revolutionists, and he boldly 
led the way in the direction of popular govern- 
ment. From this point there was no doubt in his 
mind, no hesitation in his conduct. He urged 
with all his might that the only logical issue of 
the Revolution was the founding of a republic. 
A reaction set in, after the return of the royal 
party, that favored the king, but it was of short 
duration. It was one of those golden opportuni- 
ties of which the royalists failed to take advan- 
tage. The road to Varennes was the highway to 
the scaffold. Louis had sealed his doom by the 
attempted abandonment of his kingdom. There 
was, to be sure, an interval between his return 
and his final deposition, but it was only an in- 
termission, a mere interruption, the final result 
was inevitable. 

He had irretrievably ruined his cause, when 
he fled from his post and betrayed the nation. 
Because of his departure and the manner of it, 
he had lost the respect and the homage of his 
people. He possessed no longer " the divinity 
that doth hedge a king," and as time ran on, his 
presence in the capital became irritating. For 
the State had a monarch on hand who did not 
rule, and who, when the republic was established, 
became a menace to its existence, for lie was the 
centre around which gathered all the forces in 
opposition to popular government. 
148 



CHAPTER XI 

DANTON FAVORS A REPUBLIC DANTON URGES 

DEPOSITION OF THE KING REPUBLICAN SOCI- 
ETY PROCLAIMS REPUBLIC THE ASSEMBLY DE- 
CREES THE INVIOLABILITY OF THE KING THE 

CLUB OF THE CORDELIERS ISSUES PUBLIC AD- 
DRESS FUSILLADE OF THE CHAMP DE MARS 

Danton was now determined, if possible, to 
destroy the monarchy. He was outspoken in his 
denunciation of the king. What valid reason, 
said he, has Louis to refuse to surrender that 
which he voluntarily abandoned? If he does not 
willingly abdicate, then he should be shorn of his 
title and power by force, but was not his abdica- 
tion complete when he left his throne and at- 
tempted to flee from France? Before the re- 
turn of the king from Varennes, Danton declared 
in the Club of the Jacobins : " Louis, after hav- 
ing sworn to support the Constitution, has be- 
come a fugitive, and yet I hear some one say that 
he has not forfeited his crown, but he has signed 
a paper in which he states that he is going to 
seek means of destroying the Constitution. The 
National Assembly should put forth its whole 
strength to provide for its safety. Confront him 
with this paper; if he acknowledges it he is a 
criminal, unless we are to take him for an im- 
149 



DANTON 

becile. If he is an imbecile he can no longer be 
king." 

Danton openly declared for a republic. He 
was one of the first among the leading revolution- 
ists who took this stand. Robespierre, at this 
juncture, hesitated to announce his opinion. To 
explain his position, he said it was too soon to 
advocate a change in the form of government, 
as the people had not as yet been sufficiently edu- 
cated on the question, and prematurely to make 
an effort, in that direction, would destroy the 
Revolution. Even the Jacobins, at this time, 
feared to advocate the overthrow of the mon- 
archy. When Billaud-Varennes proposed in the 
club that the question : " Which is better for 
France, a kingdom or a republic ? " should be dis- 
cussed and considered, he was sternly rebuked 
by the president and threatened with expul- 
sion. 

" There were perhaps in July, 1789," said Dan- 
ton, " not ten republicans in Paris, and what cov- 
ers the Old Cordeliers with glory is that they 
began such an enterprise as the republic with 
means so small." Even as late as August, 1792, 
he declared in an address to the Council of Min- 
isters, after Longwy had fallen, " Vous ne pouvez 
pas vous dissimuler V extreme minorite dans 
Vetat du parti qui veut la republique." — " You 
cannot conceal from yourselves the very insig- 
nificant minority of the party in the country which 
is for a republic." Immediately after the over- 
throw of the monarchy, Barere is quoted as say- 
ing : " II y a une republique — il n' y a pas de re- 
150 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

publicains." — " There is a republic — but there 
are no republicans. 

Danton thundered and raged against the men 
who, when every condition favored the establish- 
ment of a democratic form of government, hes- 
itated to act but spent their time in arguing mere 
abstractions. He stood forth in this period of 
uncertainty and doubt as the herald of the re- 
public. 

On the morning of July i, 1791, Thomas 
Paine, representing a Republican Society, startled 
Paris by having placards posted in conspicuous 
places throughout the city, and even on the doors 
of the National Assembly, announcing the ad- 
vent of the republic. The proclamation did 
not mince matters, for it stated that the nation 
could have no confidence in a king who had 
broken his oath, had deserted his people and 
had attempted to join with traitors and foreign- 
ers in invading his country, with the purpose of 
subduing his subjects, abrogating the laws he had 
approved, and by force imposing upon the peo- 
ple the tyranny from which they had just been 
rescued. 

No one knew how far-reaching was the influ- 
ence of this society, but the audacious declaration 
that the republic was at hand, aroused the indig- 
nation of the conservatives and the monarchists 
and they demanded the arrest and prosecution of 
the members of this association, who dared to 
disturb the peace of the country by making so 
treasonable an announcement. 

To quiet the agitation upon this matter, the 
151 



DANTON 

Assembly decreed the inviolability of the king. 
This was at a time when a warrant was out for 
the apprehension of General Bouille as the ac- 
complice of the king in the conspiracy to escape, 
and when Madame Tourzel, governess of the 
children, the waiting women and the gardes du 
corps, were under arrest, held as co-conspirators 
in a crime in which the king actually was the 
principal, but in the eye of the law deemed guilt- 
less. It was the application of the doctrine that 
" the king can do no wrong," one of the old soph- 
istries and relics of absolutism. How in all 
reason and justice could it be argued that those 
who were acting under the king's orders and in 
his interest, should be held as criminals while 
he was wholly innocent? 

It was not until long after the decree of the 
Assembly, declaring the king inviolable, that the 
prisoners were released under a general amnesty 
moved by La Fayette at the time of the acceptance 
by the king of the Constitution. 

The decree of the king's inviolability aroused 
the anger and the scorn of all the radicals. The 
Club of the Cordeliers, nothing daunted, boldly 
declared for a republic and issued an open ad- 
dress to the Assembly. It smacks of Danton's 
style and no doubt he had a guiding hand in its 
preparation. 

"We were slaves in 1789. We thought our- 
selves free in 1790. Legislators, you have 
signed away the power of the nation you repre- 
sent. You have invested Louis XVI with un- 
limited authority. You have consecrated tyranny 
152 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

by constituting him an irremovable, inviolable, 
hereditary king. You have consecrated the 
slavery of the French by declaring France to 
be a monarchy. Good citizens have lamented 
it. There have been violent conflicts of opinion. 
But this was the law and we obeyed it. A health- 
ier state of things we could only expect from the 
growth of intelligence and reason. This sham 
contract between a nation which surrenders all 
and an individual who gives nothing, it seemed 
necessary to maintain, and till Louis XVI showed 
himself an ungrateful traitor, we could only thank 
ourselves for spoiling our own work. But times 
are changed. This sham connection between 
people and king exists no longer. Louis has ab- 
dicated. Henceforth he is nothing to us, nothing 
unless he becomes our enemy. We are as we 
were after the taking of the Bastile, free and 
without a king. Is it worth our while to name 
another? This Society is of opinion that a na- 
tion ought to act either of itself directly or 
through officials removable and chosen by itself; 
that it is unreasonable that any one man in the 
State should possess such wealth, such preroga- 
tives, as to be able to corrupt the administrative 
body. It is of opinion that no citizen of the 
State should be debarred from any State post, 
and that the more important the post, the shorter 
should be the term of its occupation. Impressed 
with the truth and importance of these principles, 
it can no longer be blind to the fact that royalty, 
above all hereditary royalty, is incompatible with 
liberty. Such is its belief, for which it holds it- 
i53 



DANTON 

self responsible to all Frenchmen. It foresees 
a host of antagonists. But was there no antag- 
onism to the Declaration of Rights? In any 
case, this question is important enough to deserve 
the serious consideration of those who frame the 
laws. Once already the Revolution has miscar- 
ried owing to lingering regard for the phantom 
of royalty. That phantom has vanished. There- 
fore, without fear and without terror, let us do 
everything to prevent its resurrection. This So- 
ciety would not, perhaps, have demanded the 
suppression of royalty so soon if the king, abid- 
ing by his oath, had regarded royalty as a duty; 
if the people, ever the dupes of this institution, 
so fatal to the human race, had not at length 
opened their eyes to the light; but to-day, when 
the king, free though he was to keep the crown, 
has of his own accord abdicated; to-day, when 
the voice of the nation has made itself heard; 
to-day, when all citizens are disillusioned; we 
make it our duty to act as the medium of its will 
by demanding the destruction at once and forever 
of this scourge of liberty. You, legislators, have 
a striking warning before your eyes. Remember 
that after what has happened you cannot pos- 
sibly inspire the people with any confidence in 
any functionary named king. Accordingly, we 
conjure you by our common country either at 
once to declare that France is no more a mon- 
archy but that it is a republic, or at least to wait 
till all the primary assemblies have expressed 
their will on this momentous question before a 
i54 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

second time plunging the fairest empire on earth 
into the chains and fetters of monarchy/' 

There was no uncertain ring in the tone of 
this appeal. At the Jacobins, Danton moved 
that a petition signed by the people be presented 
to the Assembly, asking for the king's deposition. 
He argued that his flight was an abdication, and 
that the vacancy should be filled by the nation. 
This was revolutionary to a degree. But how 
should the people be given an opportunity to ex- 
press their views on the subject, was the ques- 
tion. After much discussion, it was at last de- 
cided that the petition should be placed on the 
altar of the nation in the Champ de Mars, and 
Sunday, July 17, 1791, was selected as the day 
when the signing should take place. The altar 
of the nation, " tin tertre que Von avait pompeu- 
sement decore du nom d'autel de la patrie" was 
in the centre of the Champ de Mars and had 
originally been erected for the taking of the 
national oath on the 14th of July. 

Public announcement was made by posters 
and in the columns of the newspapers that all 
that desired to sign, men, women and children, 
would be given an opportunity on the day named. 

La Fayette was determined that this plan 
should not be carried out if he could prevent it, 
and he called upon the authorities to act with 
precision and to take every precaution against 
so flagrant a violation of the law. Bailly, the 
mayor of Paris, at once made proclamation that 
no crowd would be permitted to assemble in the 
155 



DANTON 

Champ de Mars for the announced purpose, and 
that if the people collected in a multitude, he 
would give orders to disperse them, if conditions 
required it, by force. It was generally believed 
that these threats were not meant and that the 
authorities would not dare to carry them out. 

On Sunday, July 17th, thousands of people, 
men, women, and children, gathered in holiday at- 
tire, not only to sign the petition but also to enjoy 
the excitement of the scene and the occasion. 

The petition was laid upon the altar which 
stood on a wooden platform. Danton read it in 
a loud voice, and then called upon the people to 
fall into line and to come forward to sign. 

Before the signing began, some one discovered 
under the platform two men. It was subse- 
quently ascertained that one was a barber and 
the other an old soldier with a wooden leg; they 
had a basket of provisions and a keg of water. 
The two scamps had located themselves in this 
position that they might view the nether limbs of 
the female petitioners. They had bored holes 
in the flooring of the platform and evidently 
intended spending the day in this unseemly and 
indecent occupation. The discovery of these men 
created the greatest excitement. There was no 
time to ascertain whether their purpose was lu- 
bricity or treason, it was enough to know that 
they had been caught while concealed under the 
nation's altar. Rumors flew thick and fast, all 
sorts of diabolical plots were discovered, but the 
one that was quickly accepted by the people as the 
truth was that the two men were royalists whose 
156 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

intention it was to blow up the altar of the na- 
tion. The keg of water was soon, in the heated 
imagination of the people, converted into a keg 
of powder. 

While the prisoners in the custody of officers 
were on their way to the Town Hall, after a pre- 
liminary hearing at the Gros Caillou, they were 
seized by the mob and literally torn to pieces; 
their heads were stuck on pikes and carried tri- 
umphantly through the streets. The people were 
greatly wrought up by the incident and in an an- 
gry mood made noisy demonstrations, defying in 
their rage even the officers of the law, who in 
the name of the mayor ordered them to disperse. 
The officers were howled down, stoned, and had 
to flee for safety. 

Bailly, when the news was reported to him, 
raised the red flag on the city hall and proclaimed 
martial law. 

La Fayette hastened to the Champ de Mars 
at the head of several battalions of the National 
Guards. The mayor read the riot act and three 
times commanded the crowd to separate. He, 
too, was insulted and defied. La Fayette 
straightway ordered the troops to fire, one volley 
went into the air, but the second cut into the 
ranks of the people, who, panic-stricken, turned 
to flee and in the crush, men, women, and chil- 
dren were thrown down and trampled under foot. 
The soldiers wheeled their cannon into position 
and made ready to fire upon the retreating mul- 
titude, but La Fayette, mounted on his white 
charger, ran in front of the guns and prevented 
i57 



DANTON 

further slaughter. The number of citizens killed 
was never officially announced; the radicals 
greatly exaggerated the figures and the authori- 
ties suppressed the real facts. St. Just said that 
the number killed was 2,000; other accounts 
varied, in some cases the number falling to a 
dozen. The reports were influenced by the pur- 
pose or the prejudice of those who made them. 
Not a soldier was killed or wounded. The rout 
was complete, but in the end it was a dearly 
bought victory. It was an important count in 
the indictment against Bailly, when he was ar- 
raigned in 1793, and materially aided in sending 
him to the scaffold. 

The populace were maddened and rushed to 
the house of La Fayette to take vengeance by 
murdering his wife and children, but fortunately 
for them, a passing regiment of cavalry came to 
their rescue and routed the mob before any dam- 
age was done. 

It will, perhaps, always be a mooted question 
whether or not Bailly and La Fayette upon this 
occasion acted hastily and without sufficient 
cause. It does seem as we look at the affair from 
this distance, that the massacre was unjustifiable. 
The object of the petition, the change of govern- 
ment from a monarchy to a republic, was clearly 
revolutionary, but the signing of the petition 
and its presentation to the Assembly were acts 
that in themselves were not unlawful. 

The time was a holiday when men, women, 
and children in their best attire had gathered in 
a public square, surely with no intention of re- 
158 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

sorting to violence; the presence of the women 
and the children settles that question. The 
crowd was unarmed. To be sure the mob had 
violated the law when the barber and the old 
soldier were killed, but this act was not committed 
on the Champ de Mars, but while the prisoners, 
after a hearing, were being taken from the office 
of the Commissary of Police to the Town Hall. 
This was in the morning and the massacre took 
place in the afternoon, and some distance from 
the locality where the two prisoners had been 
murdered. 

The affair, which was called the Fusillade of 
the Champ de Mars, caused for the time being 
a very decided reaction. The signing of the 
petition was abandoned; its leaves were scat- 
tered to the four winds. The Assembly passed 
a vote of thanks to La Fayette and tendered him 
its congratulations. 

The department of the Seine instituted a 
prosecution against Danton, who left Paris when 
he found that his arch-enemy, La Fayette, was 
hostile and determined to bring him to trial. 

He went first to the house of his father-in-law 
at Rosny sur Bois and then hastened to Arcis. 
While here in his old home and among his friends, 
he felt comparatively safe. " It would need a 
troop of cavalry to arrest him. Everybody was 
on his side." But La Fayette was vigilant and 
in pursuit. Danton took refuge in Troyes in the 
house of a friend named Millaud, and at last, to 
escape arrest, fled to England. 

In Paris the journal of Desmoulins was sup- 

159 



DANTON 

pressed and Marat suddenly disappeared from 
public view for a time. Madame Roland de- 
spaired and feared that the Revolution had re- 
ceived its death stroke. Robespierre in hastening 
from the scene of disorder was offered an asylum 
in the house of a carpenter named Duplay, and 
subsequently made this his permanent home. 
The mob was completely subdued. Even the 
Jacobins began to apologize for their errors. 
The blatant orators in the clubs tempered their 
eloquence. The curb-stone agitators sneaked 
out of sight and were as docile as a flock of 
sheep. 

Danton while abroad did not lose his influence 
at home for he was in constant correspondence 
with his friends and watched with a keen eye 
the passing events, and was ready to take advan- 
tage of that change in public opinion he knew 
would come. While in England he had an op- 
portunity to ascertain the real sentiment of the 
English people in relation to the Revolution and 
from his observations he was convinced that the 
government, as well as the people, was anxious 
to avoid any complications with France. In 
fact he found that the Whigs, under the leader- 
ship of Fox, sympathized with the Revolution. 

When the reaction set in after the meeting on 
the Champ de Mars, the moderates rejoiced, but 
satisfied with their triumph and relying upon the 
protestations of loyalty to the monarchy by the 
radicals, failed to follow up their victory and thus 
lost an opportunity. to secure the results that were 
so close at hand. This was a point at which, by 
160 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

the exercise of political wisdom, the Revolution 
could have been decisively stayed. 

At the time the Jacobins moved to submit to 
the people the question of the king's deposition, 
La Fayette, Bailly, Barnave, Duport, the Lameths 
and their followers withdrew from the club and 
organized the Feuillants, an association composed 
of moderates and royalists, men who favored 
a constitutional monarchy. They signally failed 
to exert the power and influence they anticipated. 
By their withdrawal they thought they would 
weaken and perhaps destroy the organization of 
the radicals, but instead of accomplishing this 
end their conduct only strengthened their ene- 
mies, for the Jacobin Club now was relieved 
of dissensions and was composed only of ultra 
revolutionists. During this period, so decided 
was the reaction, that even the royalists began 
to assert themselves and in public wore their 
badges openly. The Heur de lis and the white 
cockade of the Bourbons were defiantly flaunted 
in the faces of the radicals. " The aristocrats," 
declared Madame Roland, " are actually grow- 
ing insolent." 

On August 5, 1 79 1, Thouret made a report 
to the Assembly, announcing that the Constitu- 
tion was completed. After careful revision it 
was presented to the king on the 3rd of Septem- 
ber. On the 13th, he sent word to the Assembly 
that he would accept its provisions and that on 
the following day he would personally attend 
their session and take an oath to support it. 
Here was news indeed and the house rang with 
XX 161 



DANTON 

cheers. The Revolution had reached its consum- 
mation. The monarchy was re-established upon 
an enduring basis. France was now at peace 
and her future was radiant with promise. 
On the 14th, the king appeared in the Assembly 
and took the oath of allegiance to the Constitu- 
tion. The queen and her children were in the 
gallery and they came in for a fair share of the 
applause. For the first time in months the air 
rang with " Long live the queen." 

Everybody was in the happiest frame of mind. 
A new era seemed to be dawning upon the coun- 
try, which had been torn and shattered by bitter 
strife and factional contention, for more than two 
long agonizing years. When Louis and his 
family returned to the palace, the deputies ac- 
companied them as an escort of honor. The peo- 
ple joined in the procession and their voices rose 
in chorus, as they hailed in acclaim the king, the 
queen, and the dauphin. Better than the accept- 
ance of the Constitution, should have been to the 
king the fact that he was once more enshrined in 
the affection of his people, but he did not seem to 
appreciate the influence of that invisible power of 
love, " the cheap defense of nations," that is in 
truth a stronger support to thrones and empires 
than are military glory and standing armies. 

When Louis and Marie Antoinette reached the 
seclusion of their bed-chamber, they wept like 
babies over the loss of that power which they 
had always abused and which they did not know 
how to exercise. The nation believed the oath 
taken by the king was sincere and they in con- 
162 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

sequence applauded him to the echo, but as usual, 
he was playing a game of deception. A secret 
messenger sneaked into the palace that night and 
received from the hands of Louis a letter ad- 
dressed to the Emperor of Austria begging him 
to render assistance in order to throttle the Rev- 
olution and to destroy that Constitution which 
Louis on the morning of that very day had vol- 
untarily pledged himself to support. 

It is perhaps not reasonable to suppose that a 
Bourbon king who had been kicked from pillar 
to post could have had much respect for the 
Revolution or the Constitution, but he should 
have had wisdom and sense enough as a politi- 
cian to accept the inevitable, and honor enough 
as a man to keep his oath, or at least to have 
some regard for his word. There is no classi- 
fication for his conduct other than that it was per- 
fidious. " 'Tis not the king's stamp can make 
the metal better." 

Count Fersen, who had been in constant com- 
munication with the queen and who in his zeal 
to serve her had abandoned his home in Stock- 
holm and had taken up his residence in Brussels 
that he might be close to Paris, was much sur- 
prised at the queen's attitude to the Constitution. 
Her acceptance was apparently so sincere that 
he thought after all the Revolution might be at 
an end and that his services would be no longer 
needed, so he wrote to Marie Antoinette ask- 
ing her specifically if she had accepted the Con- 
stitution in good faith. She answered at once: 
" Do not be alarmed. I am not going over to the 
163 



DANTON 

fanatics. If I see and have communication with 
some of them it is only to make use of them. 
They inspire me with too much horror ever to 
go over to them. Be assured I will never es- 
pouse their cause." " Trust if you will," cried 
Marat, " the honor of kings and queens." 

All Paris rejoiced over the adoption of the 
Constitution. There were festivities, illumina- 
tions, dancing in the streets and in the public 
squares. The Revolution was ended. France 
was rejuvenated and all was to go well. The 
Assembly was dissolved on the 30th and the king 
was present to take part in the event. 

The deputies returned to their districts and 
provinces, and were warmly received by their con- 
stituents. La Fayette, upon reaching Auvergne, 
was accorded a most generous welcome. Robes- 
pierre was received at Arras with all the honor 
that could be paid a returning victor ; he was car- 
ried on the shoulders of the people and extolled 
as the savior of France. 

The whole country felt the inspiration of a 
new life, the past was forgotten, the future's pros- 
perity was assured. Alas ! how soon all this joy 
and glory were to dissolve, all the hopes and 
promises were to vanish like a mist. 

The lauded and accepted Constitution had 
not yet been tested ; it was to be put to the proof 
and it was soon discovered by the radicals to be 
too monarchical in its features and by the royal- 
ists too democratic. It was a makeshift and at 
last was torn to shreds by warring factions. 

164 



CHAPTER XII 

CONVOCATION OF THE NEW ASSEMBLY KING'S 

RETURN TO POPULARITY REACTIONS IN HIS 

FAVOR HIS ADVISERS HIS DECEPTION 

MARIE ANTOINETTE RETURN OF DANTON 

FROM EXILE 

The new legislative body was convened on 
October i, 1791. Although Louis had gladly 
bade farewell to the retiring Assembly, he met 
and welcomed with no favor the new one. This 
was composed entirely of delegates without ex- 
perience, for a decree of the last convention, in 
the nature of a self-denying ordinance, had pro- 
vided that no member of that body should be 
eligible for re-election to the succeeding legis- 
lature. 

" It was little more," said Madame de Stael, 
" than a council of village attorneys." In a total 
of seven hundred and forty-five members, four 
hundred and seventy were lawyers. The old 
leaders had been left at home and the people con- 
sequently did not have much confidence in the 
wisdom of the body nor much respect for its 
personnel. There were very few if any mem- 
bers with national reputations. The great ma- 
jority were young, unknown, and untried, and 
in consequence discredited. " Among them," 
165 



DANTON 

says Watson, " were many brilliant talkers, men 
who had charmed the juries in the provinces by 
their eloquence, and the justices of the peace by 
their learning." 

Capitals are great levelers of men with pro- 
vincial reputations and Paris was no exception 
to the rule. The delegates, feeling their self- 
importance, assumed an imposing dignity which 
they thought was in keeping with their station, 
and thus disgusted the people and called down 
upon their heads the ridicule of the radical as 
well as the royalist journals. Unfortunately for 
them they stood in the place of men who had im- 
pressed the country with their greatness. Mir- 
abeau, Sieyes, Barnave, Robespierre, and men 
of that class had been delegates to the prior As- 
semblies, and it required men of great ability 
to wear their mantles without inviting invidious 
comparisons. The fact that the Constitution had 
been made, and that a reaction had set in also 
greatly lessened their importance. 

The welcome of the king had been so cold, 
he had treated them so cavalierly, that their pride 
was ruffled and they decided to retaliate. With 
this end in view, a measure was proposed, 
gravely considered, and solemnly enacted into 
a decree providing for the abolition of the title 
Sire. Such legislation was so mean in its con- 
ception, so paltry in character and so spiteful in 
its purpose that it provoked the ridicule of the 
people, and the whole town, from hovel to palace, 
rang with jeers. 

As a consequence Louis now never appeared in 
1 66 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

public that he did not receive an ovation. The 
very populace that upon the king's return from 
Varennes had received him with an ominous 
frown and in silence now made the welkin ring 
with their plaudits and greetings. The monarch 
they had insulted and humiliated they now hon- 
ored and exalted ; yet it was the same king with 
the same mind and the same purpose. 

There is nothing more fickle than public sen- 
timent, so illogical and whimsical. During the 
Revolution it was like a weather vane that is 
turned by every wind that blows. The saying 
of Roscommon, " The multitude is always 
wrong," may be too sweeping in its generaliza- 
tion, but that the populace in those eventful times 
was capricious, inconsistent, and unstable goes 
without contradiction. From the days of Alci- 
biades and Marc Antony the demagogues have 
played with effect on the passions of the mob, but 
never in any age did they have so pliable a mass 
to mold as in France at the time of the Revolu- 
tion. 

If, at this period, Louis had exercised proper 
judgment and discretion, had adopted a concili- 
ating policy, and had acted with firmness and de- 
cision, he might have made the reaction per- 
manent. 

" Even such a man, so faint, so spiritless," had 
he shown some resolution and courage, might 
have saved the monarchy. The tide had turned 
in his favor but he did not know how to direct 
nor to take advantage of the change. Accept- 
ing for granted that the future was now safe he 
167 



DANTON 

was so improvident as not to provide precau- 
tions against a counter-reaction. This was the 
time when if he had played a skilful game, he 
could have won back his kingdom. He ought at 
once to have called to his side the ablest counsel- 
ors in all France to advise him as to the proper 
plans to adopt under existing circumstances, but 
unfortunately for him he would not repose even 
in those advisers he called to his assistance that 
implicit confidence that was so necessary to enable 
them to render to him and his cause the aid that 
was required. Dumont, as we have already seen, 
attributed to him all the woes that fell to France 
and asserted that for his disasters he had no one 
to blame but himself. 

Catharine II of Russia wrote : " The king 
is a good sort of man and I would like to aid him, 
but one cannot help a man who will not be 
helped." Lamartine says, " When we place 
ourselves in the position of Louis XVI and ask 
what could have saved him? we reply disheart- 
ened — nothing. There are circumstances which 
enfold all a man's movements in such a snare, 
that whatever direction he may take he falls into 
the fatality of his faults or his virtues. This 
was the dilemma of Louis XVI." 

This was unquestionably the case after a cer- 
tain period had been reached, but there were many 
times before he became so involved wmen he could 
have extricated himself and doubtless saved his 
crown. If, in the first stages of the Revolution, 
during the sessions of the States-General, he had 
insisted upon the meeting of the three orders in 
168 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

common it would have been a step towards the 
speedy settlement of pending troubles. There 
was a deal of time wasted here and much bad 
feeling engendered and the king controlled alone 
by the court party exercised no governing nor 
directing influence over the Third Estate. By 
his unwise conduct he lost their respect, whereas 
with a little tact he might have won over their 
affection. He was not well enough informed 
on the real issues to know what reforms were 
necessary, nor did he have any clear idea of 
what the revolutionary spirit meant. He was 
so loath to relinquish anything that at last he 
lost all. 

One trouble was that he was controlled and in- 
fluenced by men who deemed their own personal 
interests as of first importance and who would 
not brook the giving up of what they considered 
time-honored rights and privileges. The system 
they were defending had become so oppressive 
that it could no longer be endured and yet, in 
spite of all, they clung to every shred of it with 
rabid tenacity. These French Tories or Bour- 
bons of the old school did not know that they 
were standing still while the world was moving 
on. They took no heed of the teachings of the 
philosophers. They sneered at the prophecies of 
seers. Their eyes were blind to the sufferings 
of the people, their ears were deaf to the appeals 
of the oppressed. They had no idea of surren- 
dering their rights, exemptions and privileges. 
They opposed the destruction of any feature of 
feudalism, and so far as restricting the arbitrary 
169 



DANTON 

power of the king was concerned, they thought 
that was a crime in violation of the decrees of 
God Himself. 

Banished from France, their incomes and pen- 
sions cut off, their estates confiscated, their cha- 
teaux burned, reduced to poverty, to virtual beg- 
gary, they still took no lessons from their mis- 
fortunes. When the Revolution was over, they 
returned to claim their own; experience had not 
been to them a teacher, they were the same old 
Bourbons who, according to the witticism of Tal- 
leyrand, " had learned nothing and had forgot- 
ten nothing." 

" Let wealth and commerce, laws and learning die, 
But leave us still our old nobility." 

These were the men who were advising the 
king. 

Louis was so timid and suspicious by nature 
that he was afraid to commit his cause to the 
care of strong and energetic men. In the early 
years of the Revolution he retained Mirabeau and 
then would not follow his advice, and as for 
Bailly, his dislike for this official was so great 
that he would not even treat with him. He per- 
mitted his personal feelings to stand in the way of 
the safety and preservation of his empire. The 
reactions after the affair of Nancy, after the 17th 
of June, and after the adoption of the Consti- 
tution were all in his favor but by his inaction 
he lost the great chances they offered. 

During all these periods the king's staunchest 
friends were importunate in offering assistance. 
170 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

La Fayette was more than willing to aid the 
king and queen, but they contemptuously declined 
his help. The Duchess d'Angouleme, daughter 
of Louis, upon one occasion in referring to the 
past troubles of her house feelingly exclaimed: 
" If my mother had been able to conquer her 
prejudices against M. de La Fayette, if he had 
been more trusted, my unhappy parents doubtless 
would still be alive." Fersen would have sac- 
rificed his life for the queen, but she ignored his 
suggestions. She might have been safe in the 
camp of Bouille had she allowed the general to 
arrange in his own way the details of her flight. 
Barnave gave her sound advice but she would 
not follow it. Dumouriez tried to gain her confi- 
dence but failed. It is said he threw himself 
at her feet, kissed her hand, and beseechingly ex- 
claimed : " Madame, allow yourself to be 
saved!" Madame de Stael conceived an ingen- 
ious plan of escape that if carried out to the 
letter might have succeeded, but she met with a 
cruel rebuff. 

After the adoption of the Constitution the re- 
action was so sudden and the change in public 
sentiment so great that the moderates became in- 
toxicated with their success and foolishly pro- 
voked and defied the radicals. The conserva- 
tives flattered themselves that the Revolution 
was over; if they had been directed by prudence 
and wisdom they could have ended it, but uncer- 
tain in purpose, divided in action, and discount- 
ing the strength of their opponents, they lost their 
golden opportunities. 

171 



DANTON 

The revolutionists were watching every move 
in the game and were ready to take advantage 
of every mistake. Danton from his retreat saw 
the weakness of the conservatives and directed 
from afar the plan of campaign. 

The Constitution, that was supposed to be a 
carefully and solidly constructed foundation upon 
which the monarchy could securely rest, was soon 
found to be crumbling under the weight of the 
superstructure. The queen was beginning to lose 
her popularity because she declined to comply 
with its provisions in that she would not fill the 
household offices as provided for under that in- 
strument. The king too, after his acceptance of 
the Constitution, provoked the people because he 
persisted in receiving the ministrations of only 
non-juring priests. Having sworn to support the 
Constitution he ignored its provisions by refusing 
to receive the offices of those prelates who had 
taken a similar oath. 

Louis was never sincere and candid with the 
people. In his acceptance of the new order of 
things there was always present an apparent men- 
tal reservation. He was too shallow in character 
to play a successful game of deception. An hon- 
est, open avowal in his case, would have been 
worth a hundred subterfuges. At this very time 
he was corresponding with foreign courts. He 
knew the emigrants were making preparations 
to invade France, and that the armies of the al- 
lied kings were at a word ready to march towards 
the frontiers, yet he never boldly protested 
against their designs. A frank word from him 

172 






THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

would have quieted all France and disconcerted 
her enemies. 

There was trouble, too, in the royal household. 
The king and the queen were at odds, they dif- 
fered upon the policies to be pursued, their con- 
tentions and disagreements were so bitter that 
she one day exclaimed in despair, " Our domes- 
tic life is a hell." They were of one mind on 
one thing, and that was a dislike for the Con- 
stitution. While openly professing fidelity and 
obedience to its provisions, they never had an 
honest intention to accept a line of it. They 
were playing false and the result was a foregone 
conclusion. They were more anxious to avenge 
their wrongs than to accept safety under the new 
order of things. They apparently submitted to 
the present conditions, but with desperation they 
were still clinging to the old order that had been 
wrecked, and which they hoped in some way to 
re-establish. 

The queen had a stronger mind than the king, 
but she lacked judgment, was without tact, and 
was at all times controlled by her emotions and 
prejudices. She had the haughty and intolerant 
spirit of the aristocrat and mistrusted all those 
that were not of her social class. It was im- 
possible to make her believe that there was any 
reason for the Revolution. From her point of 
view there were no wrongs under the old regime 
that should have been corrected, no royal priv- 
ileges that should have been abolished, no bur- 
dens on the people that should have been 
removed. In her opinion the king's right to rule 
*73 



DANTON 

was inviolable, was divine; his person was 
sacred; he could do no wrong, and the restriction 
of his authority was a violation of God's law. 
This, of course, was the result of her education 
and her environments. She had been trained 
in the school that taught these doctrines. The 
system appeared to her reasonable, she had been 
born into it; besides it had existed time out of 
mind and had the stamp and authority of age. 
She had never given attention to public matters 
but had frittered her time away in frivolous 
amusements and had devoted her life to pleasure 
and extravagance, with no sense of responsibility 
and with no imperative assumption of duty, so 
that when the Revolution broke she was not 
fitted by training or experience to cope with its 
conditions. How could it be expected that a 
woman born and bred and reared as she had 
been could know how to reign, especially in a 
period so tumultuous as to require the highest 
type of statesmanship? Perhaps after all she is 
to be pitied rather than condemned for the mis- 
takes she made. 

The Jacobins, acting with prudence and biding 
their time, were insidiously inflaming the temper 
of the people. Rumors were set in motion that 
the king was again making preparations to es- 
cape and that he was in constant correspondence 
with the emigrants and the allies. The radical 
journals which had not been suppressed or cen- 
sored grew bolder in their expressions. 

In November, 1791, Robespierre sold out his 
property in Arras and moved to Paris. Even 
174 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Marat emerged from his place of concealment, 
and Danton returned from England more deter- 
mined than ever to overthrow the monarchy. 
Since he left France conditions had greatly 
changed. The reaction in favor of the king that 
had set in after the meeting on the Champ de 
Mars had been followed by another change in 
public sentiment. The fires of the Revolution 
had been only temporarily smothered; the em- 
bers were still burning in the ashes and required 
but a breath to blow them into a flame. 



175 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE FEUILLANTS THE CLUB OF THE CORDELIERS 

WHERE DANTON RULED THE GIRONDINS 

MADAME ROLAND WAR ISSUES DANTON 

AFTER SOME HESITATION FAVORS THE WAR 

VETOES DUMOURIEZ DANTON AND DU- 

MOURIEZ 

The Revolution was rapidly becoming a war 
for factional supremacy. Among so many dis- 
cordant elements there could not be made a fair 
division of the raiment, and so it became a strug- 
gle for the survival of the fittest. It had already 
been shown, by the efforts that had been made, 
that it was impossible for the monarchists and 
the revolutionists to frame a constitution or to 
create a form of government that would be ac- 
ceptable to both. It was like the question that 
afterwards confronted the American Republic, 
which, it was contended, could not exist half 
slave and half free. To establish a stable gov- 
ernment either the royalists or the republicans 
had to be in the ascendancy, and so the bitter, 
bloody struggle for supremacy began in earnest. 

The Feuillants, composed of La Fayette, Bar- 
nave, the Lameths, Bailly, Duport, Sieves and 
other less distinguished men, having withdrawn 
from the Club of the Jacobins, had discarded the 
176 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

ultra-radical views of that organization. They 
represented the liberal nobles and the better edu- 
cated of the middle class. They sincerely sup- 
ported the Constitution and labored in every way 
to strengthen the foundations of the monarchy, 
but their efforts in a great measure were neutral- 
ized by the insincerity and the vacillating policy 
of Louis, and by the silly action and imprudent 
conduct of the emigrants at Coblentz. 

To retain their popularity, which was fast 
waning, they attempted to arouse a war spirit, 
advocating the raising of armies to resist the 
threatened invasion of the allies. This policy 
they adopted to convince the people that they had 
no part in the negotiations that were supposed 
to be taking place between Louis and the Em- 
peror of Austria, the King of Prussia and the 
emigrant princes. 

Though the events of June 17th, which threw 
such terror into the ranks of the radicals, were 
still vivid in the public mind, the Jacobins be- 
gan to express openly their views. 

The Club of the Cordeliers at this time sur- 
passed the Jacobins in turbulence and liberalism. 
Danton dominated there and he supported no 
half-hearted measures. He was in favor of the 
deposition of the king, and the establishment of 
a republic; he also advocated the raising of an 
army to repel the threatened invasion of the 
allies. 

His voice rang out in no uncertain tones. 
Since his return from England his sentiments 
had grown more revolutionary than ever. His 
12 177 



DANTON 

exile perhaps had embittered him against the 
conservatives and he fought them with a bit- 
terness that was at times somewhat personal and 
vindictive in its character. 

Perhaps the most interesting party of that his- 
toric period was that of the Girondins. It was 
originally organized by the deputies in the As- 
sembly from the department of the Gironde, 
although all its members did not come from that 
district; in fact its leader or political chief, Bris- 
sot, hailed from Normandy. 

The men who formed this party or faction 
were of the educated middle class. They were, 
in many instances, dreamers and illusionists but 
their purposes were sincere and their patriotism 
was unquestioned. Their heroism, their sur- 
passing eloquence, and the courageous manner 
in which they met their doom, have created for 
them an admiration, a love, and an enduring 
sympathy everywhere and for all time in the 
hearts of men. So long as history shall be 
written their deeds will be recounted. Brissot, 
Vergniaud, Gensonne, Guadet, Isnard, Barbar- 
oux, and Louvet were its most distinguished 
representatives. 

Madame Roland was a ruling spirit in their 
conferences. Her salon was the rallying point 
of their clan. It, in time, became the focus of 
the Revolution or what has been appropriately 
called the Second Revolution. Here in charm- 
ing conversation, animated and eloquent, the 
world was made anew and the liberty of man se- 
cured. It was not all illusion, however, for in 
178 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

the parlors of this remarkable woman were con- 
ceived many of the plans and the bloody pro- 
jects that helped to overthrow the monarchy. 

This woman, who played so important a part 
in the scenes of the Revolution, was born in Paris 
in 1754. Her father was a distinguished en- 
graver, who lost his fortune by dissipation. She 
was a woman of deep sympathies, strong pas- 
sions, and of an ardent and a loving nature. 
Her intellect was precocious and even in early 
childhood she acquired knowledge without an 
apparent effort. From her youth she devoted her- 
self to a close study of the ancients and she lived 
in a world of her own creation, where the men 
were free and the women virtuous and where all 
were equal before the law. Her heroes stepped 
out of the pages of Plutarch and were as cold, as 
severe, and as precise as that austere biographer 
has described them. She readily acquired the 
polite accomplishments of women, yet at the same 
time her powerful mind took within its grasp and 
comprehension the abstruse principles of the 
sciences. She early became familiar with the 
writings of the English philosophers and studied 
with a full knowledge the works of Voltaire, 
Rousseau, and Montesquieu. She had the fac- 
ulty of easily acquiring the correct use of for- 
eign tongues and spoke them with remarkable 
fluency. 

Such a woman, it might be supposed, was 
something of a blue-stocking, but she was any- 
thing in the world but that. It has been said 
that with her great knowledge, she was not even 
179 



DANTON 

pedantic. Not only was she renowned for her 
animated and radiant intelligence, but also for 
her dazzling beauty. " A tall and supple figure, 
flat shoulders, a prominent bust raised by a free 
and strong respiration, a modest and most be- 
coming demeanor, that carriage of the neck 
which bespeaks intrepidity, black and soft hair, 
blue eyes which appeared brown in the depths of 
their reflection, a look which, like her soul, passed 
rapidly from tenderness to energy, the nose of 
a Grecian statue, a rather large mouth, splendid 
teeth, a turned and well-rounded chin that gave 
to the oval of her features that voluptuous and 
feminine grace without which even beauty does 
not elicit love, a skin marbled with the animation 
of life and veined by blood which the least im- 
pression sent mounting to her cheeks, a tone of 
voice which borrowed its vibrations from the 
deepest fibres of her heart and which was deeply 
modulated by its finest movements." Such 
is the description we have of her. 

In her twenty-first year she met M. J. M. Ro- 
land de la Platiere, inspector general at Lyons, 
a man many years her senior, " of antique man- 
ners, without reproach except for his passion for 
the ancients, his contempt of his age, and his 
too high estimation of his own virtue." He 
more closely approached her ideal than any one 
she had up to that time ever met. He asked her 
father for her hand, but the old gentleman, in 
view of the disparity in their ages and possessed 
with more worldly wisdom than his daughter, 
strenuously objected to the union. Her parent's 
180 







Madame Roland 

From an engraving in the collection of 

William J. Latta, Esq. 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

stern refusal only increased her desire, and sur- 
rendering to her emotions, she straightway re- 
tired to a convent, destitute of everything. But 
this sacrifice on her part did not seem to affect 
M. Roland as she had hoped it would, and she 
was greatly disappointed in his conduct. She 
was somewhat like the maiden who to test the 
ardor of her lover threw herself into a torrent 
and was disappointed to find that his affection 
stopped at the shore. The philosopher had 
passed the ardent stage of youth and was not 
only too wise but too old to climb stone walls or 
force an entrance into a prison. Love with him 
was not a fire ; it was a condition. 

For some time after her departure he did not 
visit her and seldom wrote. After an interval 
of six months, however, he came to the convent, 
proposed, and was accepted. She was devoted 
and self-sacrificing, but as she soon discovered it 
was to a philosopher and not to a lover, that is 
a lover after her own ideals. She had been im- 
pressed by the lofty and profound views of this 
sage and mistook admiration for passion. 
" The one sought a disciple rather than a wife 
and the other married a master rather than a 
husband," and the union resulted in what might 
have been expected. She made the mistake of 
uniting herself with a man for whom she had a 
high personal regard but for whom she had not 
that ardent love, that continuing passion that 
alone binds closely man and woman. 

Of a proud and lofty nature she endured that 
agony that tests the virtue of even an honorable 
181 



DANTON 

woman. " I have not/' she said, " for a moment 
ceased to see in my husband a most estimable 
person and to whom it was an honor to me to 
belong; but I often felt that similarity was want- 
ing between us. If we lived in solitude I some- 
times had very painful hours to pass, if we went 
into the world I was liked by persons, some one 
of whom I was fearful might affect me too 
closely." The temptation she endeavored to avoid 
she yielded to at last when she met the handsome 
Buzot and she broke her husband's heart when 
she revealed to him the secret. 

In 1789 she was living in the country on the 
paternal estate of her husband. The tocsin of the 
Revolution rang in her ears like an alarm in the 
night and stirred all the emotions of her soul. 
During her residence in the country she had be- 
come familiar with the sufferings and the degra- 
dation of the poor peasants and she had labored 
hard to relieve their distresses. In her immedi- 
ate locality she had essayed the role of Lady 
Bountiful. 

Her heart having been touched, she longed for 
the coming of that day when tyranny would cease 
its exactions and when men would enjoy that 
state under the law that would enable them to 
realize the happiness that comes from opportun- 
ity and political equality. To her the excitements 
of the Revolution brought new life, new inspira- 
tions, new occupations, and what was better than 
all, a change in the irksome monotony of her ex- 
istence. It furnished a stage upon which to play 
a distinguished role. " She adored the Revolu- 
182 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

tion like a lover " and she gave to it that devo- 
tion she would have given to a husband who re- 
sponded to her heart's desires. 

On the 20th of February, 1791, in the thirty- 
third year of her age and in the full bloom of her 
womanhood, she came with M. Roland to take 
up her residence in Paris. She had been absent 
from the capital for a period of five years. She 
at once took a leading part in public affairs and 
towards the close of 1791 was the mouthpiece of 
a party. 

When her husband was in the cabinet she ex- 
erted a far-reaching influence and at times took 
too conspicuous a part in the business of the de- 
partment. Condorcet, alluding to this matter, 
said : " When I wish to see Roland I can never 
get a glimpse of anything but the petticoats of 
his wife." " She occupied," says Barras, " with 
obstinate assurance the closet of the minister." 
She may have thought that she was fitted to lead 
a party but she really had not even the funda- 
mental qualities of a politician. She was too 
visionary, too emotional ; she often injured her 
cause by speaking too freely upon political ques- 
tions and by criticising too severely her enemies 
and public men. Her sarcasm cut to the quick 
and her sneer was scorn itself. She would risk 
an empire rather than let pass an opportunity 
for a bon mot. 

She did not possess that great faculty of accu- 
rate discrimination in judging character that is 
so essential to the success of the politician. Con- 
trolled by her prejudices, her ill-timed criticisms 
183 



DANTON 

of men and measures often made enemies when 
a little tact could have made friends. The great 
trouble with her from a political point of view 
was that she talked too much and constantly in- 
volved her friends and party in explanations. 

She sought in every way to strengthen her in- 
fluence and to increase her power, for her am- 
bition was boundless. She tried to win over to 
her cause even the icy heart of Robespierre. 
" She flattered Danton, but with fear and repug- 
nance as a woman would pat a lion." She con- 
ceived for him a mortal dislike which she could 
not overcome. " I looked/' she said, " at this 
repulsive and humble face and though I feel I 
ought not to judge a man on hearsay and that I 
know nothing against him ... I could not 
associate an honest man with such a countenance. 
I have never seen anything so absolutely the in- 
carnation of brutal passion and astounding auda- 
city half veiled under an appearance of immense 
joviality and an affectation of great bon-hommie. 
Often have I pictured to myself Danton, dagger 
in hand, hounding on with voice and gesture a 
band of assassins more cowardly and less savage 
than himself." He must truly have seemed out 
of place in the parlors of the Roland mansion 
where his herculean form towered above the cul- 
tured, classical enthusiasts that paid court and 
homage to their plebeian queen. Bold, out- 
spoken, and not always restrained by the precise 
etiquette of fashionable drawing-rooms, his 
rough, scarred features and his generous laugh 
made him appear outre in so polite and gallant an 
184 




THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

assemblage. Yet in spite of this she ought to 
have cultivated the real friendship of this man, 
for, as time will show, he was the one above all 
others who could have saved her party from de- 
struction. In the end she was the evil genius of 
the Girondins as Marie Antoinette was of the 
royalists. 

Madame Roland had an utter contempt for the 
queen. She was outspoken enough to declare 
that the time had come when " two illustrious 
heads," referring to the king and the queen, 
" should be brought to trial." In her denuncia- 
tion of the queen she was always bitter and cruel, 
often alluding to her as a Messalina and intimat- 
ing that her crimes were no less in number and 
of a character no better than those of that de- 
tested Roman empress. 

When Madame Roland's affection for Buzot 
was made known, scandal played wild havoc with 
her name. Virtue was no longer her defense and 
she was attacked most bitterly from every quar- 
ter. Those enemies whom she had assailed with 
her vituperation paid her back in the same coin 
without discount. Marat, who spared neither 
man nor woman in his abuse, poured upon her 
head the vials of his wrath. He called her 
" Queen Coco " and Penelope. He subjected her 
to execration and held her poor husband up to 
public ridicule as a cuckold, the plaything of a 
wanton. 

At this period, the close of 1791, the Girondins 
were in power, that is they were the strongest of 
the factions in the convention. The war was the 
185 



DANTON 

sole absorbing theme. Its dire shadow fell 
athwart France and cast a gloom in every patri- 
otic heart and home. As a party the Girondins 
were in favor of it. Marat argued with all his 
might against it. He predicted that it would be 
a field of glory for the rich and a hell for the 
poor and doubtless would result in the establish- 
ment of a military despotism and the overthrow 
of social order. Robespierre was opposed to it 
from partisan motives. He believed it would 
put the Girondins further in the ascendency. 
La Fayette declared that the Jacobins were in- 
fluenced in their opposition by the fear that it 
would be directed by their rivals and also by the 
fact that several of them, like Danton, were in- 
terested financially in the secret negotiations with 
the court party. This was one of the suspicions 
of La Fayette for which at a later date he had to 
answer. 

It is true that Danton at first hesitated upon 
the question of the declaration of war, for in the 
interest of France he would gladly have favored 
any honorable plan that would have avoided the 
conflict. He was ready at all times to repel inva- 
sion and would have been willing to shed the last 
drop of French blood in driving back a foreign 
foe, but he would not under any circumstances 
for the glory of his party provoke a war. From 
the very beginning, however, he thought that a 
foreign war was inevitable. " I know it must 
come," he said. " If anyone were to ask me, 
are we to have war? I would reply, we shall 
hear the bugles." When at last it did come no 
186 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

one gave it more ardent and loyal support. Bris- 
sot, as the leader of the Girondins, appealed to the 
nation to resent the insult offered to France by 
the allied kings who, gathering their armed hosts 
on the frontiers, not only menaced her peace but 
also defied the courage of her sons. The Giron- 
dins no doubt were actuated by a patriotic spirit, 
but they also clearly saw that a war would be 
to their advantage politically; and that unques- 
tionably had its weight in controlling their action. 
The stand they took was popular and greatly 
strengthened them for the time being in public 
opinion. 

War! War! was the cry everywhere. The 
revolutionary journals published the most in- 
flammatory appeals while the orators harangued 
the people at the clubs, on the street corners and 
in the gardens of the Palais Royal. 

The autumn of 1791 was dark and gloomy 
and gave every promise of a cheerless winter. 
In November the Assembly decreed that the emi- 
grants would be deemed guilty of conspiracy if 
they still remained on the frontiers on January 1, 
1792, and if captured it was further decreed that 
they would be punished by death and their lands 
confiscated by the government, which confiscation 
however, would not prejudice the rights of wives, 
children, and creditors. The king refused to 
sanction this act. The Assembly a few days later 
decreed that the priests who persisted in rebellion 
against the State should take the oath of alle- 
giance; if they refused, they should be deprived 
of their salaries and driven out of their parishes. 
187 



DANTON 

The king also vetoed this measure. How was 
it possible for him to retain the support and con- 
fidence of the people if he was determined to de- 
feat those laws which provided for the punish- 
ment of traitors — for the emigrants were so 
classed by the people — and which required upon 
the part of the clergy the observance of a consti- 
tutional provision? And yet, to be fair, it was 
no easy thing from his standpoint to approve such 
legislation. 

There was no violent outbreak following these 
vetoes and Louis congratulated himself that his 
action had seemingly received the approval of the 
nation, but he never made a greater mistake in his 
life. The silence of the people was but evidence 
of a sullen mood. Step by step he was paving 
his way to the scaffold. To appease the public 
temper he issued at the same time a proclama- 
tion calling upon all emigrants to return and 
promising them that protection which they 
claimed they could not secure. 

From the people's point of view there was no 
sound reason for his disapproval of those meas- 
ures he vetoed. The emigrants were plotting 
with the enemies of France and were menacing 
the peace of the country. They were endeavor- 
ing by every possible means to induce strange 
kings to start upon a march of invasion. Conde, 
himself, was enlisting men for this purpose and 
openly declaring his intentions. There was no 
concealment of these facts, they were known to 
the world. The emigrants had not renounced 
their citizenship and consequently were traitors. 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Many of them still claimed their pensions and 
were receiving rentals from their landed posses- 
sions. 

When Louis was requested to consent to a de- 
cree requiring the German princes to disperse the 
emigrants, he was asked by Vaublanc if he 
thought his great ancestor, Louis XIV, would 
have permitted, after the revocation of the edict 
of Nantes, the assembling of armed Huguenots 
on the territory of German princes and under 
their protection. The king replied that he had 
notified the German princes that the continued 
gathering of hostile forces would be taken as 
cause for war, and that he had instructed the 
minister to move 100,000 men to the frontier to 
make ready to repel any invasion, and that the 
forts on the border had been garrisoned, supplied 
with ammunition, and put in a state of defense. 

Leopold, emperor of Austria, the brother of 
Marie Antoinette, answered the note of Louis 
by saying that he would not tolerate any viola- 
tion of the imperial territory. His letter was so 
belligerent in tone that it only intensified the war 
spirit throughout the country. 

On February 7, 1792, a treaty was made be- 
tween Austria and Prussia to quell the disturb- 
ances in France. Solemn conferences were held 
to consider plans for invasion and for the re-es- 
tablishment of the old order. France had no con- 
troversy with the outer world, her troubles were 
all domestic ; the question as to whether or not she 
should be a monarchy or a republic was one for 
her people to decide without any foreign inter- 
189 



DANTON 

ference. She had not offended any state or em- 
pire nor had she broken any law under the inter- 
national code. What right then had these na- 
tions to league themselves against France? 

The aristocracy had abandoned their country 
and had taken refuge on German soil where, un- 
der the protection of foreign princes, they had 
plotted against the home government. The 
French emigrants had virtually established a 
court at Coblentz. They advised on public ques- 
tions, issued proclamations, made treaties, entered 
into negotiations with foreign states and rulers, 
insolently threatened to destroy the great results 
of the Revolution, placed rewards upon the heads 
of distinguished rebels, and arrogantly announced 
what they would do upon their re-entry into 
France. They divided the spoils before the 
battle was fought and sentenced men to execution 
before they were captured. They had simply 
transferred the court temporarily, as they sup- 
posed, from Versailles to Coblentz. They pre- 
served all the customs and the etiquette of their 
former state. Envy and jealousy marked their 
conduct towards each other; gossip, as of old, 
was their diversion. They lavished on every 
hand ribbons, medals, titles, honors, and distinc- 
tions. They were the same silly, vain and inso- 
lent set they had been at home. It had made no 
difference in them to sit by the waters of Babylon 
instead of by those of the Seine; since their so- 
journ in a strange land they had learned nothing 
by misfortune or experience. 

Germany had offended against France as well 
190 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

as against the laws of nations, in that she had 
permitted her soil to be used as a sanctuary by 
these fugitives and had allowed them to issue 
proclamations disturbing the quiet of a state with 
which she was at peace. Hostile armies were 
daily getting closer to the borders and the people 
anxiously asked, " Are the ministers to remain 
supine or are they to make preparations to repel 
these forces when they attempt to cross the line 
into French territory? Is France to be overrun 
by foreign hordes and no resistance to be 
offered?" 

The Girondins assailed the ministry and de- 
nounced the king for his inertness. Under the 
strain Louis yielded, dismissed the ministers, and 
named as their successors, among others, Roland 
and Dumouriez. 

Dumouriez was by all odds the ablest man 
among the new appointments. He was classed 
politically as a Girondin, but partisan classifica- 
tion did not bother him ; he could serve or betray 
any party, if it were to his interest to do either. 
Prior to 1789, he had been a courtier, during the 
days of the first Assembly a constitutionalist, 
then he became a Girondin, and under the repub- 
lic a red-capped Jacobin. Ultimately he betrayed 
his country and deserted his colors. His career 
as a soldier, however, was a record of bravery, 
of unexampled gallantry. " He was," says La- 
martine, " of that middle stature of the French 
soldier who wears his uniform gracefully, his 
haversack lightly, and his musket and sabre as if 
he did not feel their weight." 
191 



DANTON 

His body had been riddled with bullets in the 
Seven Years' War, but his wounds had not im- 
paired his strength and, although when appointed 
minister he was approaching sixty years of age, 
he was as robust, as ambitious, and as enthu- 
siastic as a boy. Even at that time of life he 
could leap into the saddle without putting foot 
to stirrup. He was one of those men upon whom 
time seems to make no impression. His life 
from youth had been one of adventure and, so 
far as real success was concerned, a failure. He 
was unscrupulous, fond of intrigue, and a diplo- 
mat of marked ability. No sooner did he secure 
a seat in the cabinet than he began to scheme, 
and he played his game most adroitly in attempt- 
ing to win all parties. He almost succeeded in 
gaining the confidence of the queen. 

Danton had a great admiration for his ability 
and for a long while implicit faith in his loyalty. 
At the time of the selection of Dumouriez as 
commander of the Army of the Rhein, although 
he was classed as a Girondin, Danton threw aside 
every factional consideration, gave him the most 
earnest support, and was most influential in se- 
curing the appointment. In this matter Dan- 
ton considered alone the interests of France and 
was actuated and controlled by the most patriotic 
motives. The subsequent treason of the general 
cast a shade of suspicion over Danton, but he 
was absolutely innocent of any complicity in the 
designs and plots of the traitor. 



192 



CHAPTER XIV 

DEATH OF LEOPOLD ASSASSINATION OF GUSTAVUS 

III, KING OF SWEDEN FRANCIS II MAKES PROC- 
LAMATION DANTON HURLS DEFIANCE 

WAR DECLARED APRIL 21, 1 792 DEFEAT OF 

THE FRENCH TROOPS DEATH OF GENERAL DIL- 
LON DEPUTIES FROM MARSEILLES PRESENT 

PETITION TO THE ASSEMBLY DAY OF THE 

BLACK BREECHES PETION 

On March i, 1792, the Emperor Leopold died. 
So bitter was the feeling in France against the 
Austrians that Marie Antoinette feared to go 
into mourning for her deceased brother; indeed 
she ought not to have felt it incumbent upon her 
to pay him any marked respect. He apparently 
had not troubled himself much about her safety. 
His indifference had provoked the criticism and 
censure of the queen's friends. The Count 
d'Allonville one day asked the Prince of Conde 
what the emperor would do if the mob should 
murder his sister : " Perhaps he would venture 
to go into mourning for her," was the sarcastic 
reply. 

Gustavus III, king of Sweden, was assassin- 
ated on the night of March 1 5th, by a man named 
Ankarstrom, at a masked ball in Stockholm. 

Gustavus had been meditating upon a plan, in 
13 193 



DANTON 

fact had been arranging its details, by which 
Catharine of Russia was to furnish the soldiers 
and Spain the subsidies in order to relieve by in- 
vasion the king of France. The sudden and un- 
expected death of the Swedish monarch, however, 
put an end to this formidable combination. The 
fact was not conceded nor even taken into con- 
sideration by these foreign potentates that the 
French people had any right to change their form 
of government or to establish a new one. 
" Who," cried Danton, " has authorized them to 
interfere in our domestic affairs? Who has 
made them masters or arbiters of our destiny?" 

France was but acting upon the principles an- 
nounced in America's glorious Declaration, " a 
Declaration," says Buckle, " which ought to be 
hung up in the nursery of every king and blaz- 
oned on the porch of every royal palace." The 
object of the institution of government is to se- 
cure the rights of the people, for it is alone from 
them that it derives its powers and " whenever 
any form of government becomes destructive of 
these ends it is the right of the people to alter or 
abolish it and to institute a new government, lay- 
ing its foundation on such principles and organiz- 
ing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem 
most likely to effect their safety and happiness." 

Leopold's successor, Francis II, took a most 
decided stand in relation to the conditions in 
France. He demanded the restoration of the 
rights of the pope and the German princes; he 
further announced that the Church property 
which had been confiscated by the State should 
194 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

be restored, and that the government should at 
once be re-established upon the basis of the royal 
proclamation of June 23, 1789. 

The demands were so insolent in character, so 
dictatorial in tone, that they aroused a feeling of 
indignation and resentment in every heart, 
stirred every patriotic impulse, and effected a 
unity of purpose throughout all France, in spite 
of factional differences, that nothing else could 
have accomplished. Such impertinence only 
added fuel to the flame. Boldly the challenge 
was accepted, and the nation rose like a giant in 
her strength to grapple with her foe. Danton 
thundered in the ears of the people and aroused 
their patriotic fervor. Defiantly he hurled the 
gage of battle into the teeth of the Austrian 
prince. Danton's robust and impetuous tempera- 
ment made him the natural leader at such a time. 
The impending peril aroused the lion in his na- 
ture and he was a host in himself. He was a 
practical, far-seeing politician, not a blind, unrea- 
sonable fanatic, and with his political instinct he 
saw clearly that the Revolution could succeed 
alone by keeping alive the vehemence and energy 
of the insurrectionary spirit of Paris; it was this 
force that had to be depended upon to resist the 
invaders. 

The insolent tone of the Austrian emperor's 
proclamation was the expression of tyranny — 
"The tree of liberty," exclaimed Barere, " only 
grows when watered by the blood of tyrants." 
■Isnard in one of his impassioned flights stirred 
the emotions of the Assembly when he cried out, 
195 



DANTON 

" If a war of kings be raised against France, we 
will raise a war of people against kings." In 
such a time eloquence is born of the occasion ; it 
is the inspiration of passion, the utterance of the 
emotions. 

The orators in the gardens and at the clubs 
moved the people to desperation. They declared 
that the country was being betrayed by traitors 
at home and threatened by enemies abroad. 
They openly asserted that the king and the queen 
were in correspondence with the emigrants and 
the allied kings and that the glorious results of 
the Revolution would be lost if the people did 
not rise in their strength to defend what they 
had secured. Foreign tyrants had impudently 
directed what should be the policies of France. 
Could a free people yield to a dictation so arro- 
gant? France would not have been worthy the 
liberty she desired if she had complacently sub- 
mitted to such an insult. 

To meet public sentiment, the king at last, un- 
der the advice of his ministers, proposed to the 
Assembly the Declaration of War on April 21, 
1792. 

One great danger to the Revolution was the 
fact that the officers of the French troops were 
royalists; and as those at the head of the armies 
of the coalition were the brothers of Louis and the 
relatives of Marie Antoinette, this produced a 
state of affairs that surely gave no assurance of 
future success for France. 

The first battle was a repulse for the French, 
196 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

who, greatly out-numbered at every point and 
poorly manoeuvred, fell back in confusion. The 
retreating soldiers, believing they had been be- 
trayed, cried " treachery," and in their fury mur- 
dered Theobald Dillon, one of their generals. 
Marat shrieked with joy when he heard of Dil- 
lon's death, for it proved to him, he said, that the 
troops were loyal even though their leaders were 
traitors, and it further convinced him that their 
officers could not lead them against Paris. 

The Assembly passed a decree constituting it- 
self in permanent session. It also directed the 
formation of a camp of 20,000 men near Paris. 
This measure the king vetoed. He further in- 
flamed the public temper by dismissing the min- 
isters, Servan, Roland and Clavieres. 

On the day that the king vetoed the decree pro- 
viding for the enlistment of 20,000 men to de- 
fend Paris, several representatives from Mar- 
seilles appeared at the bar of the Assembly and 
presented a petition, which read : " French 
liberty is in danger but the patriotism of the 
South will save France. The day of the people's 
wrath is arrived. . . . Legislators, the 
power of the people is confided in you ; make use 
of it. French patriotism demands your permis- 
sion to march with an imposing force towards 
the capital. . . . You surely will not refuse 
the sanction of the law to those who are ready 
and willing to die in its defense." It was Bar- 
baroux, the deputy from Marseilles, who insti- 
gated the presentation of the petition and whose 
197 



DANTON 

purpose it was to reveal to the capital the pa- 
triotic spirit of the South and incidentally the 
popularity of the Girondins in the provinces. 

Charles Barbaroux was a most enthusiastic 
revolutionist. He was one of the leaders of his 
party and, though of uncommon ardor, possessed 
wisdom and judgment of a high degree. He 
wielded considerable influence in the Assembly 
as well as in the councils of his party, and was 
an active partisan and a most pronounced repub- 
lican. 

Fearing that the Revolution was losing ground 
in the North, he proposed that preparations 
should be made to retire, in case of foreign inva- 
sion, behind the Vosges and the Loire, and if 
Liberty were driven from these defenses " she 
would still have left in the east the Doubs, the 
Ain, and the Rhone ; in the west the Vienne and 
the Dordogne; in the centre the rocks and the 
rivers of Limousin and beyond these the Au- 
vergne with its steep hills, its ravines, its aged 
forests, and the mountains of the Velay, laid 
waste of old by fire, now covered with pines, a 
wild country, where men plough amidst snow, but 
where they live independently. . . . Lastly, 
if all these points were forced, we should have 
Corsica left — Corsica where neither Genoese nor 
French have been able to neutralize tyranny; 
which needs but hands to be fertile and philoso- 
phers to be enlightened." He was determined 
that Liberty should not be driven from France, 
but if compelled to retreat she would not sur- 
render but fall back step by step and die in the 
198 ' 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

last ditch. It was Barbaroux who infused the 
ardor of the South into the Revolution and 
boldly led his cohorts into the capital to give it 
new life and vigor. 

In spite of the ulterior purpose of the Giron- 
dins, which was to show the capital the power 
of the provinces, Danton believing that the en- 
thusiasm of the Marseillais would arouse the 
patriotism of the Parisians gave the project his 
strong support. On the 16th of June the insur- 
gents in the district of St. Antoine addressed a 
communication to the Commune requesting per- 
mission to assemble in arms on the 20th of June 
and to present a petition to the Assembly and to 
the king. The Commune referred the matter to 
the Directory and the municipal body. The Di- 
rectory passed a resolution forbidding armed as- 
semblages and enjoined the commandant gen- 
eral and the mayor to employ such measures as 
should be necessary to disperse such gatherings. 

The ostensible purpose of assembling on the 
20th of June was to celebrate the anniversary of 
the oath of the Tennis Court; the real purpose, 
however, was to strike terror into the hearts of 
the royalists, by the sight of fifty thousand pikes. 
The insurgents, in spite of the resolution of the 
Directory, were active in making preparations for 
the march. Their leaders gave them every as- 
surance that, notwithstanding the order of the 
authorities, the National Guards would not fire 
and the mayor would take no steps to inter- 
fere with their right to petition the Assembly and 
the king and to celebrate the anniversary of an 
199 



DANTON 

event that in its nature was historic. Here was 
anarchy in its very essence. 

On the morning of the 20th of June, 1792, 
eight thousand men, in contemptuous violation 
of the law, marched out of the faubourgs Saint 
Antoine and Saint Marceau and directed their 
steps towards the Assembly. A grim, swarthy 
mass, terrible to behold, emerging from these 
seething centres of population burst forth upon 
Paris and spread on every hand the terror that 
is created by a great moving, undirected force. 
Some of the men were hatless; many wore the 
bonnet rouge; all were armed — the weapons, 
various in character, ranged from the hatchet to 
the scythe, from the bludgeon to the pike. They 
moved forward with that intrepidity that marks 
the multitude, conscious of the strength that 
comes from numbers. Strange were the banners 
of this army. One man carried on the end of a 
pike a calf's heart, under which were written the 
words : " The heart of an aristocrat ; " another 
bore aloft on a tall staff a pair of black breeches, 
the motto reading : " Long live the Sans 
Culottes." It was this that gave the occasion 
its designation, " The Day of the Black 
Breeches." 

The procession was led by Santerre, the rich 
brewer of Saint Antoine, and the rabid Saint Hu- 
ruge, surnamed the Marquis. At every step 
crowds gathered and cheered the marchers on 
their way; women and children mingled with the 
throng and when the mob reached the hall of the 
Assembly their number had increased to 30,000. 
200 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

The National Guards, fearing a repetition of 
the scenes of the Champ de Mars if they should 
attempt to repulse this great multitude, opened 
their ranks and permitted the procession to enter 
the hall. It was the capitulation of law to an- 
archy. The spokesman appeared at the bar and 
in language both positive and threatening de- 
clared that the people had been patient too long 
but that they were now aroused and were deter- 
mined to use that power vested in them by the 
Declaration of Rights and to resist oppression. 
He condemned the dismissal without cause of the 
patriot ministers and declared it was high time 
that the happiness of the people should not depend 
upon the caprice of a king. " Why should the 
monarch be above the law? The life and the 
rights of the people are as dear and as valuable to 
them as those of crowned despots. Let those of 
your body whose sentiments do not agree with 
ours, cease to pollute the land of liberty and be- 
take themselves to Coblentz. We complain of 
the inactivity of the armies, if this inactivity be 
the result of the treachery or the incapacity of the 
executive power, then let that power be de- 
stroyed." 

The president of the Assembly answered in a 
conciliatory tone that the requests would be con- 
sidered. The crowd then marched through the 
hall and made the rafters ring as they sang the 
wild chorus of the Ca ira and cried : " Vive la 
nation," " Vivent les sans-culottes/' " A bas le 
veto" 

Out into the street next swept the procession, 
201 



DANTON 

headed for the Tuileries to pay respect to his 
majesty. The people gathered under the win- 
dows of the palace and shouted their insults 
to the royal family, their favorite cry being: 
" Down with the veto." As usual Louis was 
complacent and accommodating, and gave orders 
to open the gates ; immediately the crowd rushed 
into the court-yard, broke down the doors of the 
palace, and swarmed through the halls and the 
corridors like an army of rats. They ascended 
to the royal apartments, crying all the while: 
" Where's the king? " " Where's the Big Veto? " 
They even dragged a cannon up the marble stair- 
case to the second floor. 

The mob swept everything before them, over- 
coming all resistance, though in fact there was 
very little offered. The soldiers seemed to be 
utterly demoralized, paralyzed with fear. A 
man like Napoleon would have been worth a 
kingdom to Louis at this moment. Cold steel 
and the open mouth of a cannon were the only 
arguments that could convince such a rabble. 

Bourrienne, in his Memoirs, says that he and 
Bonaparte had been in a coffee-room in the Rue 
St. Honore and on going out they saw a mob 
of five or six thousand men, " all in rags and 
armed with every sort of weapon, vociferating 
the grossest abuse and proceeding with rapid pace 
towards the Tuileries." Bonaparte and Bourri- 
enne followed the crowd and after a short walk 
reached the terrace from which they had a full 
view of the disgraceful occurrences that ensued. 
Bonaparte was surprised and indignant, says 

202 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Bourrienne; he could not understand such weak- 
ness and forbearance. " When the king ap- 
peared at the window wearing the red cap, Bona- 
parte could no longer restrain his indignation and 
exclaimed : ' What madness ! How could they 
allow these scoundrels to enter. They ought to 
have blown four or five hundred of them into the 
air with cannon; the rest would have taken to 
their heels.' " 

Bonaparte would have been the man for the 
occasion but his day had not yet arrived. This 
" bronze artillery-officer," of clear-cut medallion 
face, out at the elbows, eager for opportunity, 
and ambitious for promotion, was in the near 
future to play his part when with a " whiff of 
grapeshot " he was to scatter the rabble of the 
sections, bring order out of anarchy, and " blow 
into space the thing we specifically call French 
Revolution." 

After the mob rushed into the palace and 
reached the apartments, they began breaking 
down the doors with hatchets. Louis had sent 
away many of his friends whose presence he 
thought would tend to exasperate the mob. He 
retained at his side only the old Marshal de 
Mouchy d'Acloque, some of the servants of his 
household, and a number of the officers of the 
National Guards in whom he had confidence. 
When the mob began hammering at the door of 
the king's apartment he ordered it opened at once. 
He faced without trepidation a crowd of angry 
men armed with pikes and bayonets. " Here I 
am," he exclaimed; "what do you want with 
203 



DANTON 

me?" Acloque, addressing the rabble, said: 
" Citizens : This is your king ; pay respect to him. 
We stand ready to die at his side rather than let 
you hurt him." Louis was placed in the recess 
of a window and his friends formed a rampart 
about him. He was seated on a chair that stood 
upon a table. His demeanor was calm and firm. 
He had the patience of endurance ; passive cour- 
age was his virtue, he could suffer heroically but 
could not resist. 

For two long hours he had to submit to all 
manner of insults; women scolded and men up- 
braided him, while the crowd shouted in his ears : 
" No veto ! No priests ! No aristocrats ! " 
One of the mob presented him a bonnet rouge on 
the end of a pike; the king put the red cap on 
his head and promised to support the Constitu- 
tion. " So stands Majesty in red woolen cap ; 
black Sans-culottism weltering round him far and 
wide, aimless with inarticulate dissonance, with 
cries of Veto ! Patriot ministers ! " Some one 
handed him a sword and demanded that he should 
wave it and at the same time cry : " Long live 
the nation ! " He obeyed the command to the 
letter, although he did not evince much enthu- 
siasm nor display much grace in the perform- 
ance. A drunken fellow offered him a glass of 
wine, which he drank off without a moment's 
hesitation. Legendre, the butcher, stepped up 
before him and in a loud voice charged him with 
duplicity and treachery, warned him to beware 
the people's wrath, and in the name of the na- 
tion demanded the sanction of the decree pro- 
204 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

viding for a camp near Paris, to which Louis re- 
plied : " This is neither the time nor the place to 
discuss that question. I will do what the Con- 
stitution requires." This timely answer of the 
king gained the applause of the crowd. 

Madame Elizabeth shared the dangers of the 
day with her brother, to whom she was devotedly 
attached. When she was seen at the window the 
crowd below took her for the queen and shouted : 
" There is the Austrian." Some of the soldiers 
surrounding the princess called out to the peo- 
ple : " This is not the queen but Madame Eliza- 
beth." With that gentleness and self-sacrificing 
spirit that characterized her, she requested them 
not to correct the mistake. " Leave them in their 
error," she said, " and save the queen." 

Marie Antoinette had not been able to reach 
the side of the king, for when the crowd entered 
the palace their first cry was for her, and she 
fled with her children to the Council Chamber 
where Mandat with two hundred National Guards 
gave her protection. Santerre, the brewer, stood 
at her side and persuaded the rabble to show her 
some respect. A hoodlum put a Jacobin cap on 
the head of the dauphin, but Santerre tossing it 
aside remarked : " The boy is stifling, it is too 
hot for him." 

Hearing of the king's danger, a number of the 
deputies hastened to the palace and appealed to 
the people to withdraw, and after much persua- 
sion the mob at last retired. Then forming in 
procession, they returned to their sections; their 
coarse and discordant cries gradually grew 
205 



DANTON 

fainter but the echoes rang in the ears of the 
king long after the marchers had disappeared 
from view. 

The royal family, worn out and humiliated, 
when at last united fell into each other's arms 
and wept. The king perceiving that he still wore 
the red cap impatiently tore it from his head and 
threw it to the ground. One of the deputies 
from the Assembly standing near was seen to 
have tears in his eyes and Marie Antoinette turn- 
ing to him said : " You weep to see the king and 
his family so cruelly treated." " Understand me, 
Madame," he said ; " I weep for the misfortunes 
of a beautiful, tender-hearted woman and the 
mother of a family, but there is not one of my 
tears for the king or the queen — I hate kings and 
queens." This was the distinction between the 
man and the revolutionist, and it was this senti- 
ment that eventually overthrew the monarchy. 

Petion, the mayor, reached the palace long 
after the greater part of the rabble had deserted 
it. He mounted a chair and addressing the 
crowd said : " You have laid your remon- 
strances before the king ; there is nothing now for 
you to do but to retire." The palace was cleared 
about seven o'clock in the evening. The mayor 
made some sort of excuse for his delay in ar- 
riving, but the king gave him a stinging rebuke 
and turned from him in disgust. Of course next 
day the royalists and the constitutionalists waxed 
indignant, cried aloud for investigations, and de- 
manded that the ringleaders and those who, while 
remaining in the background, had instigated this 
206 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

outrageous attack upon the palace and the royal 
family, should be brought immediately to trial 
and punishment. As might be expected, how- 
ever, the matter was never followed up. 

After this day of violence and anarchy, a reac- 
tion set in at once. The Revolution, indeed, was 
made up of reactions. On the 21st, from morn- 
ing until night, in marked contrast to the prior 
day's occurrences, crowds of people gathered 
around the palace and shouted their cries of 
loyalty to the king. The wonder was that they 
came so late ; where were they the day before ? 

There was absolutely no excuse for the inert- 
ness of the authorities. The conduct of the mob 
should not have been a surprise to them. The 
people of the faubourgs Saint Antoine and Saint 
Marceau had given notice that it was their inten- 
tion to arm themselves on the 20th of June and 
to proceed in a body to the Assembly to present a 
petition and to follow this proceeding with a 
personal visit to the king. Even after the author- 
ities had resolved that such a gathering would 
not be permitted, the leaders of the mob openly 
continued their preparations. There was no at- 
tempt at concealment. As early as five o'clock 
on the morning of the 20th, the Directory again 
gave notice that it would enforce its resolution, 
but no steps were taken to protect the Assembly 
and the palace. The fact that the mob was to 
bear arms was of itself a menace to civil order 
and enough to reveal to the authorities the pur- 
pose of the leaders. Artillery with a firm com- 
mander would have been the only sure means 
207 



DANTON 

of meeting such a condition and enforcing the 
law, and the cannon ought to have been posted so 
as to sweep the avenues leading out of the fau- 
bourgs before the mob began to march. 

Outside of Paris the sentiment was strongly in 
favor of bringing the leaders and instigators of 
the mob to judgment and punishment. The de- 
partment of the Seine preferred charges against 
the mayor and demanded a thorough investiga- 
tion. Petion ought to have been adjudged 
guilty, but so soon as the public temper subsided 
the whole matter was dropped. His attitude, or 
what may be called his masterly inactivity, can 
easily be explained. He was in spirit a Jacobin ; 
he was a political or factional executive and had 
neither the desire nor the nerve to resort to posi- 
tive measures. He was trimming; he stood be- 
tween his duty as an official and his sentiments 
as a partisan. As mayor it was incumbent upon 
him to defend the king; as an individual it was 
his wish to see him overthrown. He was a 
demagogue fearing to lose the favor of the rab- 
ble, and consequently adopted no strong or severe 
measures to compel a compliance with the law. 



208 



CHAPTER XV 

LA FAYETTE COMES TO PARIS LA FAYETTE 

DANTON AND LA FAYETTE 

Hearing of the attack upon the Tuileries, La 
Fayette assigned a brother officer to his com- 
mand and came post haste to Paris. He ap- 
peared at the bar of the Assembly and demanded 
the punishment of the insurrectionists. When 
upon the streets he was greeted most enthusias- 
tically, and surrounded by his old comrades of 
the National Guards, who urged him to lead them 
against the Jacobins. Had he complied with 
their request the reaction might have lasted 
longer. 

It is possible that if a strong mind had directed 
public sentiment at this point the Revolution 
might have ended in the firm establishment of a 
constitutional monarchy. The people were so 
incensed at the conduct of the mob and the weak- 
ness and inertness of the municipal authorities 
that they were ready to abandon the Revolution, 
to make secure the results that already had been 
attained, and to establish a government of peace 
and order. 

When La Fayette called at the palace of the 
Tuileries to pay his respects to the king and the 
queen they gave him a very cool reception. With 
14 209 



DANTON 

their usual want of wisdom and foresight they 
declined to accept and utilize the services of one 
who, a born monarchist, was willing to bare his 
sword in their defense, and who at this juncture 
could materially have aided them. In fact, the 
queen at this time told Madame Campan that she 
would rather perish than be saved by him. 

After a few hours' stay in the capital, he de- 
parted, finding his visit had come to naught. He 
received cheers, applause and congratulations, 
but attained absolutely no results; and without 
further ado he trotted back to the army. 

His sudden appearance in Paris had sent a col<J 
chill down the backs of the Jacobins. His popu- 
larity and the hold he had on the affection of the 
National Guards were what they feared. Dan- 
ton, with his keen political instinct saw that La 
Fayette had a great opportunity at hand, and he 
watched with the eyes of a lynx every move 
made in the game. He was soon convinced, 
however, that the conservatives could not unite 
their forces nor agree upon a plan of action and 
he rejoiced at the utter discomfiture of his arch- 
enemy. 

In view of the public temper at this time, La 
Fayette would have made a most formidable 
leader; but the pride and the prejudices of the 
queen, as usual, stood in the way of any mutual 
agreement and frustrated his every effort. She 
could not understand how a born royalist could 
be a revolutionist or why a marquis of the old 
noblesse should be interested in enfranchising the 
rabble and in emancipating the peasant from the 

2IO 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

thraldom of feudalism. La Fayette was to her 
an apostate, guilty of treason to his order. She 
might have reposed confidence in a plebeian, but 
she could not trust, under any circumstances, a 
renegade patrician. The antipathy of Louis was 
also very great ; he could never forget the predic- 
tion of Mirabeau that " La Fayette, if he could, 
would hold the king a prisoner in his tent." 

It would have been a useless and a thankless 
task for the general to try to save those who 
preferred to be lost rather than be placed under 
obligations to him. It is said the queen herself 
notified Petion and Danton of his purpose and 
thus made it impossible to carry out his plans. 
It was the last chance he ever had to serve the 
king. He missed a great opportunity and the 
royal family lost their strongest defender. 

Marie Jean Paul Roch Yves Gilbert Motier, 
marquis de La Fayette, was born at Auvergne in 
1759. He was left an orphan at the age of 
thirteen and inherited a princely fortune. When 
sixteen he married a daughter of the Duke 
d'Ayen, granddaughter of the Duke de Noailles, 
a member of one of the oldest and most aristo- 
cratic families in France. He enjoyed every ad- 
vantage that birth, riches, and high social posi- 
tion could confer. He was received with favor 
at the court and was admitted to the exclusive set 
of the queen. The door of every fashionable 
salon was open to him, but the follies and the 
amusements of the gay world did not tempt him 
from his ambition. As between the court and 
the camp he preferred the latter, and at an early 

211 



DANTON 

age, following in the footsteps of his father who 
was a soldier of some renown, he entered the 
Guards. 

His ambitions were high and laudable; he was 
anxious to become famous and to win personal 
renown but only by honorable methods. His 
enthusiasm was so aroused in the brave struggle 
of the American Colonies for independence that 
he decided to offer his services to the American 
minister and to enlist in the cause. "At the 
first news of the quarrel," he wrote, " my heart 
was enrolled in it." His friends did all in their 
power to dissuade him from his purpose but with- 
out avail; the king forbade his departure but 
this only intensified his desire and strengthened 
his determination. He fitted out a ship at his 
own expense. The British ambassador protested 
and orders were given by the authorities to seize 
the vessel which was lying at Bordeaux, but it 
was quickly taken by its officers to a neighbor- 
ing port in Spain. 

Meanwhile La Fayette was arrested under a 
lettre de cachet, but escaped from the guards and 
in disguise reached his vessel and with eleven 
companions sailed for America. Two British 
cruisers were sent in pursuit, but he eluded them 
and, after a voyage of two months, arrived at 
Georgetown in South Carolina. He proceeded 
at once to Philadelphia where Congress was in 
session and was shortly assigned to a command 
as major-general with a stipulation upon his part 
that he should serve as a volunteer and receive 
no pay. He fought at Monmouth and was ac- 
212 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

tive at the siege of Yorktown, displaying great 
personal valor, but giving no special evidence 
that his soldierly qualites, in so far as command- 
ing troops was concerned, were of a high order. 

La Fayette's name is so closely linked with 
the story of American independence that it seems 
almost sacrilege to do aught but praise him. As 
the steadfast companion of Washington, as one 
who suffered with the troops at Valley Forge, 
as one who gave his purse, his pen, his sword, 
his services to the Colonies, his memory is em- 
balmed in the heart of every American patriot; 
but it is the duty of the historian to measure 
men as he finds them and while judging them 
leniently he must at the same time criticise them 
fairly and justly. 

No one can doubt La Fayette's sincerity. He 
abandoned the comforts, the delights, and the 
luxuries of an aristocratic home, to cast his lot 
with a struggling people. To say, as it has been 
said in certain quarters, that he did this simply 
for glory and personal fame is doing him a grave 
injustice. He may have been actuated by the 
ardor of youth; those ragged bare-footed heroes 
whose footprints marked with blood the snow 
they trod, battling without resources against a 
mighty empire, may have appealed to his 
imagination, but he was at all times so sincere, so 
consistent in his conduct, so self-sacrificing, that 
he is entitled to the highest praise and the ever- 
affectionate remembrance of an enfranchised and 
a grateful people. His sympathies were with 
the oppressed and his voice was ever heard ad- 
213 



DANTON 

vocating the cause of political liberty and human 
freedom. 

It is not surprising", then, that when the French 
Revolution arrived he at once, notwithstanding 
his aristocratic connections, boldly espoused the 
popular side. He unhesitatingly turned from his 
own order and in consequence subjected himself 
to the reproaches, sneers, and calumny of the 
court party, among whom of course were many 
of his old friends ; but with a clearly defined pur- 
pose he pursued his way to the end. 

In the violence and anarchy of the Revolution 
he at last saw his hopes turn to despair. He 
fled from his country to avoid arrest and certain 
death, took refuge in Austria, and was thrown 
into a dungeon at Ulm, where he languished for 
five years. Napoleon stipulated for his release; 
yet nothwithstanding this fact La Fayette, true 
to his principles, voted against the life consulate 
and afterwards against the imperial title. He 
opposed tyranny and usurpation in their every 
phase and always favored constitutionalism and 
popular rights. 

When we study carefully the part he essayed 
in the French Revolution I think it will be ad- 
mitted that he was not equal to the occasion; he 
was not the man for that epoch. His vanity, his 
love of the dramatic, or rather the spectacular, 
his irresolution, his suspicions, his prejudices, his 
want of tact, and his poor judgment in measur- 
ing the qualities of men caused him to make 
many grievous errors. He was not a revolu- 
tionist of the stamp that directs events and that 
214 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

takes quick advantage of contingencies. He was 
not a politician of invention and resource, and 
had not the dominating spirit of the born leader. 
He was so anxious to retain the respect of the 
public and to maintain his honor that he would 
not resort to the means and measures adopted 
by his unscrupulous enemies and consequently in 
the game of politics he was often out-played. 
The Caesars, the Cromwells, the Richelieus, the 
Dantons, the Napoleons, in accomplishing their 
ends, do not stop to weigh the niceties of a moral 
code. In a contest so fierce, in times so tumultu- 
ous as the French Revolution, the politician 
who relies alone upon virtue to win is like the 
commander in battle who depends upon prayer 
instead of his artillery. 

The Count d'Artois described La Fayette as 
" a scelerat ct fanatique in whom no one could 
confide, because no one could bribe him from his 
duty." Mirabeau had an utter contempt for 
him and sarcastically referred to him as "Gran- 
dison Cromwell." Napoleon, who thought any 
man was a fool who would allow his honor or 
his conscience to stand in the way of his prefer- 
ment or ambition, called him a noodle. 

Camille Desmoulins delighted to hold him up 
to public ridicule and he never lost an opportunity 
to humble his pride or to mock his vanity. He 
knew the sensitive points of the general and he 
played upon them as a satirist with consummate 
skill. He considered him a carpet knight and 
a soldier always on dress parade. He alluded 
to him ironically as " the liberator of two 
215 



DANTON 

worlds,' ' and dubbed him the " Don Quixote of 
Capet " and the " Constellation of the White 
Horse." La Fayette's consuming desire was to 
win popularity or as Mirabeau tersely put it, " he 
loved the glory of gazettes." Jefferson, who 
was a keen judge of men, said he had "a canine 
appetite for popular applause." He was at times 
given to boasting which made him appear some- 
what ridiculous. Upon one occasion when Mira- 
beau through the influence of some friends was 
endeavoring to form an alliance with La Fayette, 
the general, drawing himself up to his full height, 
stoutly exclaimed: "I have vanquished the 
King of England in his power, the King of 
France in his authority ; I will certainly not yield 
the place to Mirabeau." La Fayette was totally 
wanting in that personality that was possessed 
by Cromwell; and the attributes of such a leader 
were needed for the role he essayed. He had 
those qualities of heart that secure the love of men 
but not their confidence in a crisis ; he could com- 
mand their admiration but not their unreserved 
dependence. 

In the French Revolution La Fayette played a 
most conspicuous part — he represented one phase 
of it; but in politics he was no match for Dan- 
ton. One was vain, visionary, cautious, scrupu- 
lous; the other was natural, practical, resolute, 
audacious, and not hindered by any question of 
moral nicety in reaching his ends or accomplish- 
ing a purpose. Where La Fayette would hesi- 
tate Danton would dare. They were two distinct 
types £epresenting the conservatism and the 
216 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

radicalism of that period. Both were sincere 
in their desires for reform and it was unfortunate 
for the cause of the Revolution that they could 
not form an alliance. 

While desiring to do full justice to La Fayette 
I think it must be admitted that his capacity was 
far less eminent than his virtues. 

A distinguished English author and statesman 
wrote: " Men of all parties join in testifying 
their absolute belief in La Fayette's inflexible in- 
tegrity and men of more than ordinary sagacity 
and reflection have added that he alone passed 
unscathed through the revolutionary furnace; 
alone trod without a fall the slippery path of 
those changeful scenes." " It must be a great 
satisfaction to you," said Charles James Fox in 
a letter written to La Fayette, " that having 
passed through the scenes of the Revolution you 
have nothing wherewith to reproach yourself." 
" Stay, my dear man," said Napoleon. " Yours 
is a fine conduct. To lead in one's country's af- 
fairs and in case of her making shipwreck to 
have nothing in common with her enemies — that 
is the true course." 

It is no small praise to say of a man that his 
honor was exalted, his integrity was inflexible, 
his ideals were lofty, and that he pursued his way 
through the most trying scenes and experiences 
with his truth and his character unsullied. 

The radicals recovered very slowly from the 

reaction that set in after the 20th of June, but 

their spirits and their courage rose when they 

saw La Fayette leave the city. There is no 

217 



DANTON 

question but that he could have closed the Club 
of the Jacobins and could have brought their 
leaders to trial and punishment if quick action 
had been taken and he had received the support 
of the court party and the constitutionalists. 
With the public sentiment in his favor he could 
have censored the radical journals and for their 
treasonable utterances could have suppressed 
them, for they had gone far beyond the limits of 
the law. They had become but the mouth-pieces 
of anarchy. 

As stated before, it was quite possible at this 
point in the Revolution for La Fayette with his 
influence in the National Guards and with public 
opinion strongly favoring a reaction, to establish 
the throne on a substantial basis, but the queen 
would not have it so. 

The radicals in Paris were not at rest; the 
dangers that surrounded them were appalling. 
They were greatly surprised when they ascer- 
tained that the king and the queen had refused 
to consider the propositions of La Fayette and 
they rejoiced beyond measure when he left Paris; 
but they still had their troubles for they were 
threatened by the armies of the allies from with- 
out and by the royalists at home. 

It was rumored too that La Fayette would 
lead the troops against the capital and make short 
work of the Revolution by the establishment of 
a military dictatorship. " Keep your eye on La 
Fayette," cried Marat, "for he is more danger- 
ous without than within Paris;" and the people 
knew that this wild fanatic was a pretty good 
218 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

judge of men and could fathom their purposes 
very accurately. 

After the eventful 20th of June Madame 
Roland feared the Revolution was lost and she 
encouraged her friends to make the most strenu- 
ous efforts to save it. The future was so un- 
certain that all parties were in a state of sus- 
pense, bewilderment, and doubt. While Madame 
Roland was worried over the threatened destruc- 
tion of the Revolution, the king and the queen 
were as much worried over the threatened de- 
struction of royalism. 

The emigrants at Coblentz, encouraged by the 
change in public sentiment, were making all sorts 
of threats and declaring they would be in Paris 
in six weeks, terrorize the revolutionists and 
avenge the ills they had suffered. No conduct 
could have been more imprudent and nothing 
could have put the king and the queen in greater 
jeopardy. Nor could any plan have been 
adopted better calculated to inflame the passions 
of the people and to unite them in a common pur- 
pose and a common defense. 

The changes were rung upon these threats in 
every club and in the columns of every news- 
paper. It gave a great chance for the radical 
orators and journalists to recover lost ground and 
they did not fail to take every advantage of it. 
Danton was not idle in these days and his elo- 
quence resounded throughout France; not only 
did he arouse patriotism but he formed public 
opinion. He looms up, at this period, as the 
foremost revolutionist in the nation. 
219 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE MARSEILLAIS THE MARSEILLAISE HYMN — 

LAMOURETTE KISS THE DAY OF FEDERATION 

In order to arouse Paris and to infuse some 
of the hot ardor of the southern provinces into 
the spirit of the Parisians, Barbaroux, as we have 
seen, at the time of the vetoing of the decree pro- 
viding for a camp of 20,000 men near Paris, insti- 
gated the presentation of a petition to the Assem- 
bly and subsequently offered the services of a bat- 
talion of six hundred brave men from Marseilles 
who " knew how to die, and were not afraid to 
die." 

It was in the dusty, hot, and sultry days of 
July, 1792, that these valiant volunteers began 
their march to the capital, dragging their two 
cannon by hand. All the countryside, the vil- 
lages, and the towns through which they passed 
turned out to greet and encourage them. The 
air fairly quivered with weird songs and wild 
cheers. " It was the fire of the soul in the South 
coming to rekindle the revolutionary hearth." 

The marchers enlivened their way and aroused 
the enthusiasm of loyalists by singing the Mar- 
seillaise, a patriotic hymn that, a short time be- 
fore, had been composed by Rouget de Lisle, a 
young officer of artillery in garrison at Stras- 
bourg. Originally composed as a war song for 
220 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Liickner's army — " Chant du guerre pour 
Varmee du Rhin" — it acted on the heart of 
France like an inspiration; it made the blood 
tingle in men's veins, for it was the triumphant 
cry of a regenerated race. All the world took 
up the refrain and the words were sung in a 
hundred different tongues; like the tri-color it 
made the circuit of the earth. It was heard 
when the armies of the republic marched in ser- 
ried columns against the enemies of France, and 
its echoes reverberated even after the victories of 
the republic were swallowed up in the glories 
of the empire. It will be heard in every land 
unto the latest generations of time wherever 
brave men make a stand for liberty. It will 
comfort the patriotic soul in despair and give 
courage, fortitude, and hope to those martyrs 
who, in the sacred cause of human freedom, lan- 
guish in the dungeon, perish in battle, or die upon 
the scaffold. 

Singing this hymn that " preserves notes of 
the song of glory and the shriek of death," the 
men of Marseilles marched triumphantly on their 
way through France. A swarthy crew indeed, 
" a black-browed mass full of grim fire, who 
wend their way in the hot, sultry weather, very 
singular to contemplate." Their faces were 
bronzed by the rays of the burning sun, their 
arms and bosoms were bared, their uniforms 
were covered with dust, their Phrygian head- 
dresses were surmounted by the bonnet rouge, 
and they used branches filled with leaves as shades 
to shelter them from the heat. 
221 



DANTON 

In the eyes of the royalists these revolutionists 
were looked upon as a band of pirates or bri- 
gands; they were but madmen on an errand of 
death; their war songs were but attempts to ter- 
rorize. Of course in a time of such excitement, 
stories greatly exaggerated as to their conduct, 
appearance, and numbers were put in circulation, 
and it was difficult in those days of tumult to 
verify facts. They have been described as a 
drunken, riotous band of bacchanals, that reeled 
through France on their way to the capital, where 
they were debauched with wine and blood. 

The body, according to Lamartine, consisted 
of 1,200 to 1,500 men and was composed of 
Genoese, Ligurians, and Piedmontese, who had 
been " banished from their country and recruited 
suddenly on the shores of the Mediterranean; 
the majority sailors or soldiers accustomed to 
warfare, and some bandits hardened to crime." 

Lamartine seems to have been mistaken in his 
description both as to numbers and as to char- 
acter. According to the best authorities, they 
were not men such as he describes and they did 
not number at the most more than seven hun- 
dred. 

Careful historical research has shown that they 
were picked men from the National Guards at 
Marseilles, the most hardy as well as the most 
revolutionary men of the city, and there is no 
reason to denounce them as a band of vagabonds. 
They were chosen for their loyalty and courage, 
and when they returned to their homes in Oc- 
tober, 1792, they were welcomed with acclaim by 
222 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

their fellow citizens and accorded civic honor by 
the municipality. The pretext for their march 
was to fraternize at the Federation on the four- 
teenth of July, but it was not until the thirtieth 
that they arrived in Paris. The real purpose of 
their coming was to terrorize the royalists, to 
arouse the revolutionary spirit of the people, and 
to serve as the vanguard of that army of 20,000 
men decreed to be enlisted by the Assembly. 

The Girondins were bringing them to Paris for 
their own protection, to awe the Jacobins, and 
to show to the people of the capital what the 
provinces could do. These provincial delegates 
always had a feeling of antagonism towards the 
capital, and it was one of the things that ulti- 
mately wrought their ruin. They forgot that 
Paris was the heart of France and that all the 
arteries of the Revolution were vitalized with her 
blood. 

Danton, time and again, warned them against 
the mistake they were making in drawing a dis- 
tinction between the capital and the provinces; 
" they are but parts of one whole," he exclaimed, 
" and true patriots love all France, not only a 
portion of it." But they turned a deaf ear to his 
advice and disregarded his warnings. 

While the men of Marseilles were marching up 
from the south the Girondins in the Assembly 
were denouncing the king openly, charging him 
with plotting with a foreign foe and with double 
dealing. They even went so far as to accuse him 
of treason and declared he feigned a love for the 
laws merely to preserve the power that would 
223 



DANTON 

enable him to defy them. Vergniaud, one of the 
most eloquent members of the Assembly and per- 
haps the most polished orator of the Revolution, 
made an impassioned speech that thrilled the 
hearts of all patriots. " Every threat against 
liberty," he exclaimed, " is made in the name of 
the king. The armies of the allies are gathering 
on the frontiers and menacing the peace of 
France for no other purpose than to re-establish 
the throne, to maintain its splendor, to renew its 
extravagance, and to destroy the results of the 
Revolution. The empire, no doubt, will be dis- 
membered to pay the expenses of the coalition 
and the people will be burdened by a heavy in- 
demnity. To strike the allies with terror you 
must assail the king." 

" Let us form ourselves into one and the same 
mass of freemen," cried the priest Lamourette, 
" equally terrible to anarchy and to feudalism. 
The moment the foreigner sees that we are 
united, will be the moment when liberty triumphs 
and France is saved." A wave of enthusiasm 
swept over the Convention, past enmities were 
forgotten, factional lines were obliterated, and as 
if by one impulse the deputies ran into each oth- 
ers' arms and embraced with the fervor of lovers. 
This remarkable exhibition of fraternity is known 
in history as the " Lamourette kiss." It was 
another one of those emotional scenes that hap- 
pened so often during that exciting period. 
Jacobins and Girondins, radicals and conserva- 
tives, pledged to each other their loyalty. The 
king, hearing of the enthusiasm, entered the hall 
224 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

of the Assembly and was greeted with applause. 
There is no record, however, of his having ex- 
changed kisses with any of the members of the 
congress. 

On the nth of July the Assembly solemnly 
declared the country in danger and authorized 
the enlistment and enrolment of 85,000 volun- 
teers. The sittings were made permanent and 
cannon discharged at regular intervals announced 
to the citizens the impending crisis. The day of 
Federation, July 14th, had arrived, but it was 
not observed with its old-time enthusiasm. A 
large tree had been planted in the centre of the 
Champ de Mars upon which were hung, like toys 
upon a Christmas tree, the symbols of royalty, 
religion, and feudalism, — crowns, blue-ribbons, 
tiaras, cassocks, birettas, cardinals' hats, St. Pe- 
ter's keys, escutcheons, titles of nobility, coats of 
arms, doctors' caps, bags, bundles of lawpapers 
and records. The king was to set fire to this 
tree, but after taking the oath he excused him- 
self by stating that feudalism was dead already 
and the ceremony they asked him to perform 
was, under the circumstances, useless. It was 
refined cruelty for the managers of the celebra- 
tion to assign him to such a task and he would 
have been a poltroon had he complied with their 
request. 

This was the last time Louis appeared in pub- 
lic, until he mounted the scaffold. 



15 225 



CHAPTER XVII 

ENLISTMENT PROCLAMATION OF THE DUKE OF 

BRUNSWICK MARSEILLAIS ENTER PARIS 

BRUSH WITH THE FILLES ST. THOMAS 

The volunteers under the enlistment decree of 
July nth were enrolling themselves very slowly. 
The quota of Paris was 3,000, and up to this 
time, July 14th, only 200 had registered. Some- 
thing had to be done to meet the emergency. 
The country had been declared in danger and her 
defenders must be aroused. Inflammatory 
speeches had availed nothing. The recruiting 
offices were as empty, as deserted, as the 
churches. 

Accordingly Sunday, July 22, 1792, was named 
as a day for enlistment of volunteers. In the 
early morning cannon began to boom, drums rat- 
tled, bells rang out from every tower and steeple, 
horsemen galloped in all directions carrying ban- 
ners announcing that the country was in danger. 
Bands were stationed at the recruiting booths 
around which swarmed great crowds of people. 
At every enlistment of a volunteer the drums 
rolled, the bands played, and cheers rent the air. 
Paris was in a fervor, and under such a stimula- 
tion her quota was soon raised. 
226 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

The decree that provided for the enlistment 
authorized the soldiers to select their command- 
ers. Moreau, Pichegru, Soult, Massena, Jour- 
dan, and Davoust were chosen. These men in 
time became marshals of France, following the 
star of Napoleon and the eagles of the empire. 
They were now to receive the training that was 
to fit them for their future greatness. 

The volunteers encamped on the Champ de 
Mars and awaited marching orders. Agitators 
were at work among them and asked : " What 
will become of those you leave behind when you 
go forth to meet the armies of Austria and Prus- 
sia? Can any one say that the traitor royalists 
at home will not take advantage of your ab- 
sence ? " This was sowing seed that in due sea- 
son was to bring forth fruit. 

On July 20, 1792, the king of Prussia declared 
war and on the 28th the proclamation of the 
duke of Brunswick, commander of the Prussian 
army, was issued. 

" To the People of France : 

" Their Majesties the Emperor and the King of 
Prussia, having given me the command of the 
armies assembled by their orders on the French 
frontier, I have thought it well to tell the inhabit- 
ants of that kingdom the motives that have in- 
spired the measures taken by the two sovereigns 
and the intentions that guide them. 

" After having arbitrarily suppressed the rights 
and the possessions of the German princes in Al- 
sace and Lorraine, troubled and overset public 
order and their legitimate government, exercised 
227 



DANTON 

against the sacred person of the King and against 
his august family violence which is, moreover, re- 
peated and renewed from day to day, those who 
have usurped the reins of the administration have 
at last filled up the measure by causing an unjust 
war to be declared against his Majesty the Em- 
peror, and by attacking his provinces in the Nether- 
lands. 

" Several possessions of the German Empire have 
been drawn into this oppression, and several others 
have only escaped from a similar danger by yield- 
ing to the imperious threats of the dominant party 
and its emissaries. 

" His Prussian Majesty with his Imperial Maj- 
esty, by the ties of a strict and defensive alliance, 
and himself a preponderant member of the Ger- 
manic body, has therefore been unable to excuse 
himself from going to the aid of his ally and of his 
fellow State. And it is under both these heads 
that he undertakes the defense of that monarch and 
of Germany. 

" To these great interests another object of equal 
importance must be added, and one that is near to 
the heart of the two sovereigns : it is that of end- 
ing the domestic anarchy of France, of arresting 
the attacks which are directed against the altar and 
the throne, of re-establishing the legitimate power, 
of giving back to the King the freedom and safety 
of which he is deprived, and of giving him the 
means to exercise the lawful authority which is his 
due. 

" Convinced as they are that the healthy part of 
the French people abhors the excesses of a party 
that enslaves them, and that the majority of the 
inhabitants are impatiently awaiting the advent of 
a relief that will permit them to declare themselves 
228 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

openly against the odious schemes of their op- 
pressors, His Majesty the Emperor and His Maj- 
esty the King of Prussia call upon them to return 
at once to the call of reason and justice, of order, 
of peace. It is in view of these things that I, the 
undersigned, General Commander-in-Chief of the 
two armies, declare — 

" (i) That led into the present war by irresistible 
circumstances, the two allied courts propose no ob- 
ject to themselves but the happiness of France, and 
do not propose to enrich themselves by annexation. 

"(2) That they have no intention of meddling 
with the domestic government of France, but only 
wish to deliver the King, and the Queen, and the 
Royal Family from their captivity, and procure for 
his Most Christian Majesty that freedom which is 
necessary for him to call such a council as he shall 
see fit, without danger and without obstacle, and to 
enable him to work for the good of his subjects ac- 
cording to his promises and as much as may be his 
concern. 

"(3) That the combined armies will protect all 
towns, boroughs and villages, and the persons and 
goods of all those that will submit to the King, and 
that they will help to re-establish immediately the 
order and police of France. 

"(4) That the National Guard are ordered to 
see to the peace of the towns and country-sides 
provisionally, and to the security of the persons 
and goods of all Frenchmen provisionally, that is, 
until the arrival of the troops of their Royal and 
Imperial Majesties, or until further orders, under 
pain of being personally responsible ; that on the 
contrary, the National Guards who may have 
fought against the troops of the allied courts, and 
who are captured in arms, shall be treated as ene- 
229 



DANTON 

mies, and shall be punished as rebels and disturbers 
of the public peace. 

"(5) That the generals, officers, non-commis- 
sioned officers, and privates of the French troops 
of the line are equally ordered to return to their 
old allegiance and to submit at once to the King, 
their legitimate sovereign. 

"(6) That the members of departmental, district, 
and town councils are equally responsible with 
their heads and property for all crimes, arson, mur- 
ders, thefts, and assaults, the occurrence of which 
they allow or do not openly, and to the common 
knowledge, try to prevent in their jurisdiction; 
that they shall equally be bound to keep their func- 
tions provisionally until his Most Christian 
Majesty, reinstated in full liberty, has further de- 
creed; or until, in the interval, other orders shall 
have been given. 

"(7) That the inhabitants of towns, boroughs, 
and villages who may dare to defend themselves 
against the troops of their Imperial and Royal 
Majesties by firing upon them, whether in the open 
or from the windows, doors, or apertures of their 
houses, shall be punished at once with all the rigour 
of the laws of war, their houses pulled down or 
burnt. All those inhabitants, on the contrary, of 
the towns, boroughs and villages who shall hasten 
to submit to their King by opening their gates to 
the troops of their Majesties shall be placed under 
the immediate protection of their Majesties; their 
persons, their goods, their chattels shall be under 
the safeguard of the laws, and measures will be 
taken for the general safety of each and all of 
them. 

"(8) The town of Paris and all its inhabitants 
without distinction shall be bound to submit on the 
230 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

spot, and without any delay, to the King, and to 
give that Prince full and entire liberty, and to as- 
sure to him and all the Royal Family that inviolabil- 
ity and respect to which the laws of nature and of 
nations entitle sovereigns from their subjects. Their 
Imperial and Royal Majesties render personally re- 
sponsible for anything that may happen, under 
peril of their heads, and of military execution with- 
out hope of pardon, all members of the National 
Assembly as of the Districts, the Municipality, the 
National Guards, the Justices of the Peace, and all 
others whom it may concern. Their aforesaid 
Majesties declare, moreover, on their word and 
honor as Emperor and King, that if the Palace of 
the Tuileries be insulted or forced, that if the 
least violence, the least assault, be perpetrated 
against their Majesties, the King, the Queen and 
the Royal Family, and if steps be not at once taken 
for their safety, preservation, and liberty, they, 
their Imperial and Royal Majesties, will take an 
exemplary and never-to-be-forgotten vengeance, by 
giving up the town of Paris to military execution 
and to total subversion, and the guilty rebels to the 
death they have deserved. Their Imperial and 
Royal Majesties promise, on the contrary, to the 
inhabitants of Paris to use their good offices with 
his Most Christian Majesty to obtain pardon for 
their faults and errors, and to take the most vigor- 
ous measures to ensure their persons and goods 
if they promptly and exactly obey the above com- 
mand. 

" Finally, since their Majesties can recognize no 
laws in France save those that proceed from the 
King in full liberty, they protest in advance against 
any declarations that may be made in the name 
of his Most Christian Majesty, so long as his sa- 
231 



D ANTON 

cred person, those of the Queen and of the Royal 
Family, are not really safe, for which end their 
Imperial and Royal Majesties invite and beg his 
Most Christian Majesty to point out to what town 
in the immediate neighborhood of his frontiers he 
may judge it best to retire with the Queen and the 
Royal Family, under good and sure escort that 
will be sent him for that purpose, in order that his 
Most Christian Majesty may be in all safety to call 
to him such deputies and counsellors as he sees fit, 
call such councils as may please him, see to the re- 
establishment of order, and arrange the adminis- 
tration of his kingdom. 

" Lastly, I engage myself, in my own private 
name and in my aforesaid capacity, to cause the 
troops under my command to observe everywhere 
a good and exact discipline, promising to treat with 
mildness and moderation all well-meaning subjects 
who may show themselves peaceful and submissive, 
and to use force with those only who may be guilty 
of resistance and of recalcitrance. 

" It is for these reasons that I require and ex- 
hort, in the strongest and most instant fashion, all 
the inhabitants of this kingdom not to oppose them- 
selves to the march and operations of the troops 
under my command, but rather to give them on all 
sides a free entry and all the good-will, aid and 
assistance that circumstances may demand. 

" Given at our Headquarters of Coblentz, July 
25, 1792. 

(Signed) " Charles William Ferdinand, 

"Duke of Bninswick-Lunebourg." 

A remarkable feature of the matter was that 
the proclamation dated at Coblentz on the 25th 
should have been in Paris on the 28th and pub- 
232 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

lished in all the royalist newspapers on the morn- 
ing of that day. It at once created a suspicion 
that the friends of the monarchy in the capital 
were in possession of the paper prior to the date 
of its publication; and, if so, must necessarily 
have been concerned in its preparation. 

Is it surprising that a proclamation so im- 
pudent should have fired the indignation of all 
France? It was so insolent in expression, so 
imperious in tone, that it aroused the anger of 
even the moderates. It was like a slap on the 
cheek, which makes every drop of blood in the 
body tingle. There are some insults a brave man 
must resent even though death stares him in the 
face, or else lose his self-respect. Could a proud 
and an independent people do aught but defy a 
challenge so arrogant? 

The kings and the princes did not understand 
the spirit of the Revolution. At Coblentz the 
emigrants, believing that the day of deliverance 
was at hand, increased the anger of the people 
and the peril of the king by renewing their wild 
threats. They were coming back to France to 
reclaim their own; in this work of reclamation 
they were not only to terrorize the revolutionists, 
but if necessary to burn Paris to the ground and 
deluge the land in blood. The allied sovereigns 
declared they were advancing with their armies 
to put an end to anarchy, to crush out by force 
the violence of the Revolution, to re-establish the 
throne, and to rehabilitate the king. 

It was generally thought, and there were many 
strong reasons for the belief, that the proclama- 
233 



D ANTON 

tion had been prepared by Louis and the princes 
at Coblentz and at their instance issued in the 
name of Brunswick. Its publication produced 
results entirely different from what its origina- 
tors intended. Instead of terrifying Paris it 
aroused its fury and united the sentiments of its 
citizens. Foreign potentates, supported by their 
mighty cohorts, threatening to dictate the policies 
of France, was enough to inflame the patriotic 
ardor of the whole nation. " Do you ask, What 
is the news?" cried Demosthenes in an earlier 
age of the world's history. " What could be 
greater news than a Macedonian making war 
upon the Athenians, and regulating the affairs of 
Greece ? " 

The appeals of the Assembly amounted to 
nothing in stimulating the energy of the people 
as compared with the effect produced by the issu- 
ance of this paper. The capital rang with the 
cry of defiance, men sprang to arms, and the 
night skies were reddened with the glare of 
a hundred furnaces, where were being forged 
the implements of war. 

On the 29th of July the Marseillais reached 
Charenton, a suburb of Paris. Barbaroux, San- 
terre, and other leaders of the Revolution went 
out to meet and welcome them. A banquet was 
given at which patriotic speeches were made and 
pledges of loyalty given. After the banquet 
Danton, Westermann, Desmoulins, Marat, and a 
number of conspirators withdrew to a small 
house in a retired locality to confer and decide 
upon a plan of action. It was long after mid- 
234 






THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

night before the conspirators were gathered to- 
gether, each one having gone alone to the rendez- 
vous, and having taken a different and if possible 
an unfrequented path or road. 

It had been a day of intense heat, the atmos- 
phere had been humid and sultry, and suffering 
humanity rejoiced when it saw the gathering of 
heavy clouds in the west, foreboding a coming 
storm. The rumble of distant thunder had been 
continuous all afternoon. The sun went down 
behind a bank of clouds as black as ink, and the 
evening closed in earlier than usual. About ten 
o'clock the tempest broke over Paris; the rain 
fell in torrents, and the streets were deserted 
immediately. The wind blew with the force of 
a hurricane; chimneys toppled over, tiles were 
blown from the roofs, shutters, doors and gates 
were wrenched from their hinges. For eight 
hours the tempest raged with unabated fury. 
During this time it was unsafe to be abroad. 
The next day, the oldest inhabitant declared that 
Paris had never, within his recollection, been 
visited by so terrific a storm. 

Yet during the continuance of the fury of the 
elements, the conspirators were arranging the 
details for the destruction of the monarchy — a 
fit season for work so dark. It was decided at 
the conference that on the ioth of August, or 
thereabouts, after arousing the sections, an at- 
tack should be made on the Tuileries and the 
king deposed. 

On the 30th of July the Marseillais entered 
Paris singing their " impressive and terrible 
235 



DANTON 

songs." The populace turned out to greet the 
brave and swarthy men from the South and a 
warmer welcome was never given in the capital 
to a visiting delegation. 

It was not everyone in Paris that rejoiced at 
their coming. Baron Thiebault in his descrip- 
tion of them says : " On July 30th those hideous 
Federals, spewed forth by the city of Marseilles, 
arrived at Paris. I do not think anything more 
horrible can be imagined than those 500 mad- 
men, three-quarters drunk, almost all in red caps, 
bare-armed and bare-chested, followed by the 
dregs of the people, constantly re-inforced by 
crowds that swarmed out of the slums, frater- 
nizing from one public house to another with 
bands no less dreadful than their own." They 
marched through the streets with a defiant air, 
" their keen black eyes seeming to seek out aris- 
tocratic victims." 

They at last reached the Champs Elysees, 
where a repast was spread and served under the 
direction of Santerre. While the feast was in 
progress, a battalion of the National Guards, dis- 
tinguished as the Filles St. Thomas, were dining 
a short distance away. The men composing this 
command were royalists. The rabble, eager for 
excitement and riot, could not forbear insulting 
the soldiers of the king; a clash took place and 
the mob was sent scattering in every direction. 
Running to the Champs Elysees they called on 
the Marseillais for protection. Heated with wine 
and wrought up by the enthusiasm of the oc- 
casion, the soldiers of the South responded 
236 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

promptly, by charging upon the royalists and 
putting them to flight, killing one and wounding 
several others. Some of the fugitives covered 
with blood did not stop running until they 
reached the Tuileries; here they were protected 
by the National Guards stationed at the palace 
and it was said the ladies of the queen attended 
to the needs of the wounded. Such humanity was 
in the eyes of the rabble a crime and the town 
rang with stories about the court giving protec- 
tion to the enemies of the people. It was the first 
act of violence on the part of the visitors and in 
the eyes of all law-abiding citizens their conduct 
was without any justification. It was that of a 
crowd of drunken street bullies rather than that 
of a band of men who boasted of their soldierly 
qualities and who proudly declared they were not 
afraid to die. It was riot, not revolution. The 
National Guards petitioned for the removal of 
the Marseillais, but the tribunes sneered at the 
proposition, and refused even to consider it. 



237 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE TENTH OF AUGUST 

During this time Danton was hard at work 
arousing the sections, encouraging the weak- 
hearted, and intensifying by his ardor the spirit 
of the brave. He comprehended to the full the 
importance of the campaign he had on hand. It 
was no child's play ; it was revolution in its stern- 
est mood. It meant the sacking of the palace, 
the deposition of the king, the destruction of an 
ancient monarchy. He had assumed the respon- 
sibility of the enterprise and defeat or failure 
meant to him personal destruction. 

In the midst of his preparations he hastened 
to Arcis to say farewell to his mother and to 
convey to her his property, thus making provi- 
sion for her in case he should lose his life in the 
adventure he had on hand. 

The revolutionary leaders made no secret of 
their purpose. There was no concealment of the 
fact that they had laid their plans to overturn 
the throne. Even the details could have been 
ascertained if the court party had sent out agents 
or spies to secure information. The very air 
was charged with revolt. The orators in the 
clubs expressed themselves without any reserva- 
tion. The radical journals day after day urged 
238 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

the people to prepare for the event. " Everyone 
in Paris from the king to the poorest street boy," 
says Stephens, " knew that a revolt was being 
planned." It was an open declaration of war 
against royalty. 

The sections were petitioning the Assembly to 
dethrone the king. At every session the galleries 
were packed with the rabble from the slums, who 
interrupted the proceedings from time to time 
by calling on the deputies to vote for the abolition 
of the monarchy They jeered and hooted the 
members who spoke conservatively. Some of the 
mob armed with pikes intimated that the repre- 
sentatives who defied the people's will might find 
their heads a public spectacle. 

The king was without the kind of leader that 
was needed for such an exigency and personally 
he did not know what to do. The emissaries of 
the court were bribing the leaders of the insur- 
rection, but judging from the results they evi- 
dently did not place the money where it accom- 
plished much good. General Mandat, in com- 
mand of the National Guards at the palace, 
seemed to be the only one near the king who 
had a clear head and he was mobilizing all the 
loyal troops that could be found and succeeded 
in gathering 6,000 men, tried and true, to defend 
the Tuileries against attack, a pretty formidable 
force if properly handled, but we shall see. 

The sustaining hope of Louis during all these 

hours of suspense was that Brunswick would 

march directly to Paris. The royalists and the 

revolutionists alike believed that the undisciplined 

239 



DANTON 

French levies would not stand before the trained 
armies of Austria and Prussia. So great was the 
fear of the Parisians in this regard that they 
would not have been surprised at any moment to 
see the soldiers of the retreating French army 
pour through the gates of the capital followed in 
close pursuit by the enemy. Every hour was bur- 
dened with rumors concerning the advance of the 
allies. There was no telegraph in those times to 
flash information from the seat of war and men's 
fears and imagination took the place of news. 
The journalist was as sensational then as he is in 
the present day and the bulletin board was an 
hourly alarmist. The public mind was wrought 
up to the highest state of excitation, but there 
was no change in the purpose of the insurrection- 
ists ; the throne was to be overturned even in the 
face of invading armies. 

La Fayette was a power to be reckoned with 
for he too might turn upon the capital ; so on the 
8th of August the Assembly considered the ques- 
tion of his accusation, but by a strong majority 
it was decided that there were no substantial 
grounds upon which to prefer a charge. While 
this matter was under consideration great crowds 
gathered outside the doors of the Assembly and 
insulted, and in some instances even maltreated, 
those deputies who had absolved the absent gen- 
eral. The Jacobins burnt him in effigy in the 
Garden of the Tuileries and denounced him as 
a traitor. 

On the 9th of August when the members, who 
had been insulted and attacked, complained of 
340 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

the treatment they had received, they were 
howled down and mocked with peals of laughter, 
the laughter that bites with its scorn. 

The evening of the 9th was clear and starlit; 
all Paris was out of doors. The palace of the 
Tuileries was lighted up and the windows were 
open to admit every breeze that was blowing, for 
the weather was hot and sultry. Great crowds 
of people strolled in the gardens and upon the 
terraces. It was a serious, not a noisy crowd ; 
the shuffling of feet could be distinctly heard 
above the subdued conversation of many voices. 
There was no merriment, no loud laughter. The 
people spoke in whispers, and the silence at 
times was oppressive; it seemed almost omin- 
ous. Paris stood in apprehension of some great 
uncertain event; the air was filled with rumors; 
and no one knew what a day would bring forth. 
Towards midnight the crowds dispersed, the pal- 
ace lights were extinguished, and Paris waited 
for the dawn. 

In some localities the night was one of terror 
and excitement. Two of the sections, at least, 
were in a state of increasing agitation; Santerre 
and Westermann were in the faubourg Saint 
Antoine, and Fournier was in the faubourg Saint 
Marceau. Danton, Desmoulins, and Carra were 
at the Cordeliers with the Marseilles battalion. 
Robespierre, who was not a man of iron and 
blood, nor " framed for warlike deeds," was 
somewhere in hiding, waiting for the storm to 
blow over. Marat, it is said, was concealed in a 
cellar. Now that the moment was approaching 
16 241 



DANTON 

for decisive action, men, even brave men, lost 
their resolution. 

This was not so with Danton; his courage and 
daring increased proportionately with the dan- 
gers. It was his resolution and decision of char- 
acter that carried the plans through. There was 
nothing dim nor shadowy in his conception of 
what should be done and he did not for an in- 
stant waver in his purpose. After having made 
up his mind that the deposition of the king was 
necessary to the Revolution he never stopped 
until he accomplished his object. On the night 
of the 9th he mounted the tribune of the Corde- 
liers and thundered against the crimes of the 
court. He charged Louis with duplicity, declar- 
ing that his promise to support the Constitution 
was not sincere and only given to secure time to 
overthrow it; that his oath was taken with a 
mental reservation and that his conduct belied 
every promise he had made; that he had been 
conspiring with foreign princes to invade France 
and to enslave her people. " Citizens," he cried, 
" you can not depend upon your king, he has de- 
ceived and will betray you. Rise in your might 
and strike down the usurper ! Lose no time, for 
this very night satellites concealed in the palace 
are to sally forth upon the people and to slaugh- 
ter them, before they leave Paris to repair to 
Coblentz. Save yourselves then ! To arms ! to 
arms! " 

At this moment it was approaching midnight; 
a cannon was fired in the Cour du Commerce, and 
the Generale beat to arms in every quarter of 
242 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

the city. Camille and others ran through the 
sections appealing to the people to rise, but there 
was nowhere the zeal of the district of the Cor- 
deliers. Lastly the ringing of the tocsin was 
ordered, that dismal, terrifying sound startling 
the quiet of the night, making the timid quake 
and women and children cower in their beds. 

" Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky." 

Steeple after steeple took up the alarm until 
at last the dreadful tones were borne to the pal- 
ace ; they awoke the sleeping king and announced 
the threatened destruction of his throne. 

" You hear the alarm bell," said Danton in 
addressing the Marseillais, " it is the voice of the 
people. You have hastened from the extremity 
of the empire to the head of the nation which 
is menaced by despotism. May that bell sound 
the last hour of kings! To arms and Ca ira!" 

Men pouring out of their homes in every quar- 
ter answered the summons ; the streets were soon 
crowded with an excited multitude and their 
voices gradually grew into a hoarse sound like 
unto the roar of wild beasts, suddenly roused 
from their lairs. The sections were ready for 
the fray. 

Danton and Desmoulins after a day of great 
excitement, fatigued with the arduous work of 
preparing an insurrection to overthrow the an- 
cient and time-honored monarchy of France by 
the dethronement of its king — a task of no mean 
proportions, hurried home to get an hour's sleep 
before the bloody work began. Their wives, 
243 



DANTON 

who had been waiting anxiously for their return, 
welcomed them as if from the dead, for they had 
heard the booming of the cannon, the ringing of 
the bells, and the rolling of the drums, and 
dreaded what such sounds might portend. Dan- 
ton threw himself upon his bed and Camille slept 
with his head resting on Lucile's shoulder. 

In the early morning Danton hastened to the 
Cordeliers, again harangued the Marseillais, and 
prepared them for the day's work. Shops were 
closed and business ceased; throughout the city, 
all was suspense and terror. General Wester- 
mann had been chosen leader of the attacking 
party. 

Mandat, a brave and competent soldier, was in 
command of the troops at the palace. He was 
ordered by the Commune to appear at the Town 
Hall. At first he refused to answer the sum- 
mons, but the king directed that he should obey 
the authorities. Appearing at the bar of the 
Commune he was questioned as to his conduct 
and, upon giving satisfactory answers, was dis- 
missed. On his way back to the Tuileries he 
was arrested and carried before the Insurrection- 
ary Commune, and after a short hearing was 
ordered to prison; while standing on the steps 
of the Town Hall he was treacherously shot 
down by Rossignol, a friend of Danton's. His 
head was severed from his body and placed on 
a pike. This murder deprived the king of his 
leader, his bravest defender, and immediately 
everything at the palace was thrown into con- 
fusion. Santerre was straightway chosen com- 
244 






THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

mander of the National Guards and it was left to 
him to disarrange the plans of defense adopted 
by Mandat. 

The insurgents were now under marching or- 
ders. Santerre was at the head of the armed 
rabble. Westermann led the disciplined troops 
with the Marseillais holding the position of 
honor, the vanguard of the column. 

The death of Mandat and the news that the 
mob was advancing from the sections threw the 
royal family into a panic. The king was urged 
by Roederer, the procureur syndic, to take refuge 
in the Assembly. The queen vehemently opposed 
this plan. " Madame," said Roederer, " you en- 
danger the lives of your husband and children 
by remaining here. Think of the responsibility 
you take upon yourself." " Sir," said the queen, 
" you answer for the lives of the king and my 
children." " Madame," was the reply, " I an- 
swer for it that I will die by their side, but I 
promise nothing more." 

Mirabeau at one time said that the queen was 
the only man the king had about him. She surely 
was the only person at his side who at this time 
displayed any real courage. She boldly de- 
clared that she would rather be nailed to the 
walls of the palace than retreat, and she thought 
it was high time to ascertain whether the king 
or the factions ruled. If Louis had possessed 
some of her nerve and spirit he might even at 
this crisis have saved his crown. He seemed to 
let his power slip away and by his impassiveness 
lost every chance of safety. 
245 



DANTON 

Had he mingled with his troops his presence 
would have encouraged them. The Swiss were 
loyal and enthusiastic; a compliment from him 
would have put them upon their mettle. He had 
military force enough to make a strong defense 
and to protect the palace from capture, for a reg- 
iment of trained soldiers could have defended it 
against the assaults of ten thousand undisciplined 
men. 

The entire number of defenders in the palace 
at the time Mandat was shot was close to 6,000. 
There were about seven hundred, fifty Swiss, 
brave and thoroughly drilled. Their officers were 
capable and confident in their ability to repulse 
any attack made by the mob. The Baron de 
Viomenil had assured the queen that with these 
men alone he would drive back the rabble to 
their slums. In the morning before the attack 
was made, Louis went out into the garden of the 
Tuileries to review his troops, but instead of 
warming their enthusiasm he chilled it. The 
cries of " Long live the king " were given 
liberally at first, but they grew fainter every min 
ute. A few enthusiastic words, an appeal to their 
loyalty and patriotism, a display of resolution, 
would have turned lukewarm supporters into val- 
iant defenders. The queen, who was watching 
the review from a window in the palace, ex- 
claimed : " All is lost ! the king has shown no 
energy." 

Although the queen at this time evinced un- 
usual courage, she unfortunately lacked judg- 
ment. When the commandant of the National 
246 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Guards intimated that the nobles who were in 
the palace should be sent away as their presence 
irritated the people, she offended him and his 
command by pointing at the nobles and declar- 
ing that they were the men who would show the 
Guards how to fight. 

But now the insurgents were drawing near and 
there was no time to be lost; already could be 
heard the discordant cries of the rabble when the 
queen reluctantly consented to leave the palace. 

So the royal family left the Tuileries and 
strolled through the gardens to the hall of the 
Assembly. On the way the dauphin amused him- 
self by kicking the dead leaves in the path. " The 
leaves fall earlier this year than usual," remarked 
the king. O ! yes, Sire, a throne is to fall before 
the day is over. Who would have been thinking 
of dead leaves, at a time like that, except Louis? 

When the Assembly was reached, Vergniaud 
was in the chair and the king addressing him 
said : " I have come here to prevent the commis- 
sion of a great crime; I do not know any place 
where I can be safer than in your midst." The 
chairman assured him that the Assembly would 
maintain the rights of the people and the consti- 
tuted authorities. 

A deputy objecting to the presence of the king- 
in the house during the debates on public ques- 
tions, he in consequence was requested to retire 
with his family to a box back of the president's 
chair. This space was usually occupied by the 
reporters of the Journal Logographiquc, which 
paper claimed to give the most accurate reports 
247 



DANTON 

of the speeches and the proceedings of the As- 
sembly. For seventeen long, weary, harrowing 
hours, the king, his family, and his friends occu- 
pied these cramped quarters ; a space about twelve 
feet square. 

After the king left the palace to go to the 
Assembly, some of the courtiers, the " Chevaliers 
du Poignard," because of his desertion tore from 
their breasts their crosses of St. Louis and broke 
their swords in rage and disappointment. 

While the king was on his way to the Con- 
vention a body of royalists disguised as National 
Guards endeavored to reach the Tuileries to offer 
their services to the royal family. They were 
discovered, arrested, and confined in a building 
that stood between the palace and the hall of the 
Assembly. News was spread abroad of their 
arrest and a mob soon gathered, threatening to 
slaughter them. Baron Thiebault, commandant 
of the National Guards appealed to the crowd 
and had about succeeded in allaying their anger 
when suddenly a beautiful young woman, The- 
roigne de Mericourt, wearing a black felt hat 
with a black plume, and dressed in a blue riding 
habit with a pair of pistols and a dagger in her 
belt, pushed her way through the crowd, leaped 
upon a cannon, and called upon the men to carry 
out their threats, exclaiming, " How long are 
you to be fooled by the chatter of Thiebault?" 
The mob, stirred to fury by the burning eloquence 
of this beautiful demon, forced the doors of the 
building, ascended to the second floor, and made 
short work of the prisoners, throwing the bodies 
248 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

out of the windows to the pavement below. The 
mob, cheering the work of the murderers, danced 
around the victims of their fury like a band of 
red savages. The heads were hacked from the 
bodies and borne aloft on pikes. Later, street 
gamins amused themselves by tossing the heads 
back and forth and catching them on pointed 
sticks. Among the prisoners was Sulleau, the 
witty royalist journalist, who, time and again, 
had assailed Theroigne in the columns of his 
paper, in the most bitter and malignant terms. 
It is said she took dire vengeance on her enemy 
by cutting him down with her own sword. 

The Place du Carrousel was crowded as early 
as seven o'clock on the morning of the tenth, but 
this was no part of the assaulting army; these 
people were idlers who came to watch the attack. 
The terraces were covered with a mass of human- 
ity, every inch of ground was occupied. Through 
this multitude pressed the insurrectionists. They 
expected to meet with a sharp defense, for they 
did not as yet know that the king had deserted 
his post. 

The repelling force at the palace at this time 
consisted of six hundred Swiss, two hundred 
gentlemen, and one hundred National Guards. 
One hundred fifty Swiss had accompanied the 
king to the Assembly. The Swiss were drawn 
up on the grand staircase of the palace under the 
command of Captain Durler, a brave, cool, and 
most competent officer. 

Westermann led the attack and made straight 
for the gates of the Tuileries; he found them 
249 



DANTON 

open and without delay entered the court-yard. 
A short parley took place between him and the 
Swiss. The general was an Alsatian and was 
able to speak in German. He appealed to them 
to desert their ranks and to fraternize with the 
people, who really were their friends. Some of 
the soldiers attempted to abandon their colors, 
but were instantly ordered back into line by their 
officers. At last a shot was fired, but by whom 
it will never be known. The soldiers stationed 
at the windows, taking it for a signal, opened fire 
on the crowd below. Captain Durler at once 
charged the mob and cleared the court-yard in a 
few minutes. 

The king, hearing the discharge of musketry, 
quickly dispatched Captain d' Hervilly to order 
the Swiss to cease firing. D'Hervilly for some 
reason or other delayed serving the notice and 
the fighting continued for upwards of three-quar- 
ters of an hour. Westermann, having reformed 
his lines, led them a second time to the attack. 
It was at this point, unfortunately for the de- 
fenders of the palace, that d'Hervilly delivered 
the message of the king. The brave Swiss were 
thus left to the mercy of the mob. They massed 
and retreated slowly under a heavy fire. They 
attempted to force their way into the Assembly, 
but were ordered by the king to retire, so took 
refuge in the neighboring church of the Feuil- 
lants. 

A number of Swiss soldiers had been left in 
the palace, not having heard the order of the 
king. Hemmed in by the advancing assailants 
250 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

they charged the mob, drove them back, and then 
marched across the gardens of the Tuileries until 
they reached the Place Louis XV. Here they 
formed a solid square under the statue of that 
king, determined to sell their lives at a dear price ; 
but they were attacked by cavalry in superior 
numbers and cut to pieces. 

A few remaining Swiss who could not escape 
climbed upon the marble monument, but the in- 
surgent soldiers pricked them with their bayonets 
rather than deface the statuary by firing and 
when the poor fellows jumped to the ground they 
were brutally put to death. " An instance of 
taste for art mingled with revolutionary cruelty 
unparalleled in the history of the world." 

The rabble now finding no resistance swarmed 
into the palace and destroyed right and left, 
like an army of Huns. Some loyal, devoted 
servants of the king, who were stationed on 
guard at the doors of the royal chambers, re- 
fused to quit their posts and were cruelly slaugh- 
tered. 

A story is told to the effect that a workingman 
found a sum of money in the royal apartments, 
carried it to the Assembly, and handed it to 
Louis, saying: "If you had found my purse 
perhaps you would not have been so honest ! " 
The palace was looted from cellar to garret, but 
the bandits who did the work of destruction were 
not the soldiers of the attacking columns, but the 
riff-raff of the slums who at last, drunk with 
blood and wine, turned upon each other and rev- 
eled in carnage. The army of insurrection con- 
251 



DANTON 

sisted of the National Guards, the working men 
of the sections, and the battalion from Mar- 
seilles. These men were not of the lawless or 
criminal classes; the vast majority of them were 
industrious, law-abiding citizens. 

The scenes in the French Revolution were so 
violent that we are apt to judge the participants 
unfairly and unjustly, and to group them all 
under one head, or to class them without dis- 
crimination among the lawless. We are describ- 
ing a revolution, not a riot, and there never was 
a revolution in the world's history more justifia- 
ble. Its purpose was to relieve a people from 
oppression and tyranny that had been long con- 
tinued. Royalty was so firmly entrenched and 
abuses were so deeply rooted that it required 
force, terrific force, to wrench them from their 
foundations. The wrongs of centuries had to 
be righted, and the struggle from beginning to 
end was bitter^ relentless, terrible. " Revolutions 
are not made with rosewater," says Champfort. 

To dethrone a king who would not abdicate 
was a task that required shot and shell, but we 
must distinguish between the patriot who as- 
sailed the palace and the bandit who looted it, 
between the revolutionist and the rioter. 

When the king took refuge in the Assembly he 
may have thought that the mob would not assail 
an abandoned palace, but he was greatly mis- 
taken if this was his conjecture. He heard the 
shouts of the combatants, the cheers of the vic- 
tors, and the shrieks of the dying. He signed an 
order for the Swiss to cease firing and thus ex- 
252 






THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 



posed them to the fury of the mob, and signed 
this order without even ascertaining the facts of 
the case; thus his ill-timed, inconsiderate act re- 
sulted in the slaughter of his sworn and most 
loyal defenders. They could have made a strong 
defense and perhaps might have saved the day if 
all the plans had not been disarranged by the with- 
drawal of Louis. By his cowardly desertion and 
by his order not to fire he left them naked to their 
enemies and they were ruthlessly massacred. The 
beautiful monument of the wounded lion at Lu- 
cerne, dedicated to these brave men, is pathetic 
in the story it mutely though eloquently tells of 
their sacrifice and destruction and moves to com- 
passion the hearts of all that love loyalty and 
admire courage. 

While in the Assembly Louis employed him- 
self from time to time in pointing out to the 
dauphin the distinguished deputies, seemingly 
indifferent to the bloodshed and suffering at the 
palace. Even during the continuance of the fir- 
ing, while men were dying for him, it is said 
he contentedly munched an apple and sucked an 
orange. The queen was greatly humiliated at 
the insensibility of her royal spouse to the suffer- 
ing of his defenders, and was much chagrined at 
seeing him at meal time eat his chicken with 
as robust an appetite and drink his wine with as 
keen a relish, as though safe in his own dining- 
hall. And this while his monarchy was crum- 
bling to pieces! 

After the insurgents had massacred his troops 
and the mob had looted his palace, Louis saw 
253 



DANTON 

the Assembly, on motion of Vergniaud, vote 
unanimously for his deposition. They compelled 
him to witness his degradation while they merci- 
lessly stripped him of his power and humbled 
him in the presence of his queen and heir. How 
much rather would the queen have been nailed 
to the walls of the palace than to suffer such 
humiliation ! 

It was not until two o'clock on the morning 
of August nth that the royal family were per- 
mitted to depart from the Assembly. They did 
not return to the palace of the Tuileries, as the 
mob had made that ancient and historic mansion 
almost uninhabitable, but were escorted to the 
convent of the Feuillants. Worn out with anxi- 
ety, suspense, and excitement, the king and the 
queen sank upon their beds exhausted. 

The evening of the ioth of August was clear 
and calm. The people came in great numbers 
to the gardens of the Tuileries to view the ruins 
and to hear the recital of the exciting events of 
the day. The broken furniture and rubbish that 
had been taken from the palace were piled up in 
heaps and set on fire; the flames from the burn- 
ing piles were so furious that both banks of the 
Seine were lighted up and the sky for miles was 
illumined with the glare. The blaze at times 
even threatened to destroy the palace itself. 
Death-carts under the direction of the Commune 
gathered the dead bodies' of the combatants that 
had been piled in heaps, — Swiss, Marseillais, 
National Guards, federes and citizens, — and car- 
254 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

ried them away without ceremony, to a common 
burial. 

The events of the ioth of August destroyed 
the monarchy. The king had surrendered so 
ignominiously and his conduct while in the As- 
sembly had been so indifferent and undignified 
that he lost the respect of the deputies and the 
sympathy of his friends. He seemed to regret 
so little the fall from his throne that he made it 
easy for his enemies to deprive him permanently 
of that which apparently he so little valued. 

The ioth of August was the people's day. 
They believed that Louis was false to them, that 
he was conspiring with the enemies of France, 
and in consequence foreign kings were leading 
their armies on a march of invasion. These 
strange monarchs already had directed what the 
domestic policy of the French people should be 
and had declared that it was their intention to 
strengthen kingly rule and to revive the monarchy 
as it had been before the adoption of the Consti- 
tution. It was to be a restoration of the old 
order and this, too, under foreign dictation. The 
time had come when either the king had to be de- 
posed or the republic made impossible. " Le 10 
aout," said Danton, " a divise la France en deux 
partis, dont 1'un est attache a la royaute et Vautre 
veut la republique." But the capture of the Tuil- 
eries and the vote in the Convention for the 
deposition of the king, put in ascendancy the 
popular cause and made certain its ultimate 
supremacy. 

255 ' 



CHAPTER XIX 

DANTON'S ACTIVITY LONGWY CAPITULATES 

DOMICILIARY VISITS 

The insurrection of the ioth of August was 
Danton's work. The plan of campaign was his, 
the leaders had been selected by him, the people 
had rallied to his call. It was his courage that 
had inspired the insurgents, it was his nerve that 
carried the enterprise to a success. Even when 
the sections faltered his eloquence and his confi- 
dence aroused them. 

General Santerre, the brewer, and the leader of 
the mob from Saint Antoine, who had nothing of 
Mars but his beer (" Qui n' eut de Mars que la 
bierc"), trembled in his boots as the conflict 
approached and his courage had to be stiffened by 
a sharp word from Danton. Freron despaired of 
success and Barbaroux was so fearful of the 
result that he had poison in his pocket to be used 
in case of failure. 

Not so with Danton; the greater the danger, 
the greater his courage. He risked all in the cast 
and he won because his spirit was unconquerable. 
He never loomed up in bigger proportions than 
during this period. " Si f eusse He vaincu," he 
said when it was over ; " je serais criminel. Le 
cause de la liberie a triomphe." 
256 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

On the nth of August Danton was made min- 
ister of justice by a vote in the Convention of 222 
out of a total of 284, and he declared in his 
characteristic way that he had entered the min- 
istry through the breach made by the cannon of 
the 10th of August. During this period he was 
in supreme control; he was virtually dictator. 

Condorcet, a distinguished philosopher, a mem- 
ber of the faction of the Girondins, and one of 
the purest men who took an active part in the 
Revolution, in commenting upon the selection 
of Danton for this office said : " They have re- 
proached me for voting for Danton for minister 
of justice. Here are my reasons : It was neces- 
sary to have in the government a man who had 
the confidence of those who had just overturned 
the throne; a man who by his ascendancy could 
keep in order the many unruly instruments of a 
Revolution which undoubtedly was useful, 
glorious and necessary; a man with such talents 
and character that he would be agreeable to his 
fellow-ministers and the members of the Assem- 
bly. Danton alone had these qualities. I chose 
him and I do not regret it. Perhaps he referred 
too much to popular ideas and carried into pub- 
lic affairs too much the people's notions; but the 
only thing which in times of revolution can save 
the laws is to act with the people by directing the 
course of events, and all parties who have sepa- 
rated themselves from the people have ended by 
ruining themselves and the people at the same 
time. Besides, Danton has that precious qual- 
ity, which ordinary men never have, of neither 
W 257 



DANTON 

hating nor fearing those who are wise, talented, 
and virtuous." 

The Revolution now took on a new phase; the 
government at once became more democratic in 
its features. The common people were in power 
and the bourgeoisie, who had awed the nobility, 
were in turn now terrorized by the rabble. 

The Girondins met as usual in the salon of 
Madame Roland and haughtily boasted of their 
deeds, claiming credit for having overthrown the 
monarchy. The future to them was bright with 
hope; it was to be an era of freedom. In their 
imagination they had created an ideal republic 
and they were already living in its atmosphere. 
Their illusions so obscured the future that they 
could not read its signs. They did, not for an 
instant appreciate the fact that coming to the 
front and supplanting them were men of stronger 
fibre; not idealists, not dreamers, not sentimental- 
ists, but men of practical views, and of an audac- 
ity that stopped at nothing in attaining ends. 

Marat's demoniacal features leered at these 
pedantic statesmen who danced in attendance 
upon Madame Roland and crowded her parlors 
discussing abstract questions and dreaming of 
Utopias. The fanatical doctor was bent on riot 
and the murder of all aristocrats. Politeness, 
courtesy, genteel manners, were sure indications 
of good breeding and consequently they were 
anathema to him. He had been hunted to the 
cellars, the vaults, the sewers, and the garrets, as 
well as to foreign lands and nothing so provoked 
his enmity as a fashionable salon, especially when 
258 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

its receptions were attended by those who pro- 
fessed to be revolutionists or republicans. But 
there was a special reason for his hatred of the 
Rolands. After the ioth of August he petitioned 
the Assembly to give him permission to use four 
of the royal presses in place of those belonging to 
him which La Fayette had destroyed away back 
in January, 1790. The Assembly refused his 
request. He then made application to the 
town council and that body acquiesced; Marat 
straightway took possession. Roland severely 
rebuked him for his conduct and declared that the 
council had no right to make such disposition of 
public property. This stirred the doctor's gall, 
but when Roland refused to give him any portion 
of the money voted by the Assembly to be used 
in disseminating revolutionary literature his 
anger knew no bounds and the columns of his 
paper teemed with abuse. There was nothing 
too vile for him to print and he unquestionably 
greatly injured the reputation of the Rolands in 
the estimation of the common people. 

Though the events of the ioth of August ter- 
rorized the royalists, they did not stop the ad- 
vance of the allied armies. On the 20th Longwy 
was invested, and on the 24th it fell into the hands 
of the enemy. Brunswick immediately pressed 
on to besiege Verdun; if this city should fall the 
road to Paris would be open. Of course the 
capital was thrown into great excitement; terror 
ruled all classes, and the minds of many were 
paralyzed with fear. 

There was one man, however, whom these 
259 



DANTON 

dangers did not frighten and whose defiance and 
courage failed him not. This man was Danton. 
At a meeting of the ministers it was proposed 
by some that the government should retire to 
Blois; others suggested that an army of citizens 
be at once enlisted or conscripted and that a 
stand be made under the walls of Paris ; but Dan- 
ton, resolute and unperturbed, disregarded all 
such propositions. " I have brought my old 
mother here," he cried ; " my children also. If 
the Prussians take Paris, let it be a Paris burnt 
to ashes." Then turning to Roland he said : 
" Take care, Roland, do not talk too much about 
flight; the people might hear you." 

On the 28th of August he attended an evening 
session of the Assembly and created the greatest 
enthusiasm by one of his inspiriting speeches. 
" There is no time to be lost," he said. " We 
must prepare for action and go forth to join the 
army of the Fatherland. It is not safe for the 
loyal citizens to leave Paris, to meet the approach- 
ing armies of invasion, while traitors lurk in the 
capital; the royalists would incite the populace 
and strike the patriots in the rear. We would be 
between two fires. You cannot conceal from 
yourselves the very insignificant minority of the 
party in the country which is for a republic. It 
is necessary to strike terror to the royalists. 
Frighten them. True, the enemy have taken 
Longwy, but Longwy is not France. When a 
vessel is in a storm, threatened with shipwreck, 
the crew throw overboard all that endangers its 
safety; in the same way all that imperils the na- 
260 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

tion must be cast out. We must shut the gates of 
Paris, and all conspirators against the republic 
must be seized. We cannot delay, every minute 
counts; we may be surprised at any moment by 
hearing the drums and the foot-beat of the enemy. 
We must make house to house searches, and it 
must be done to-morrow. We must seize all 
arms and whatever else is of use to the nation in 
this, her hour of supreme peril. All belongs to 
the Fatherland when the Fatherland is in danger. 
Pour vainer e que faut-il? De Vaudace! Encore 
de Vaudace! et toujours de Vaudace! — et la 
France est sauvce." 

Here was a man who did not waver in the face 
of danger. Approaching armies could not daunt 
him. Foreign foes, invading and desecrating the 
soil of France, aroused his rage and indignation, 
but not his fears. Almost within sound of the 
enemy's drums he shouted out his defiance. 
There have been few stronger men than Danton, 
even in the most heroic periods of the world's his- 
tory. We forget his methods and his short-com- 
ings in our admiration of his dauntless courage. 

The decree for the domiciliary visits, in ac- 
cordance with the suggestions of Danton, was 
passed and posted throughout the city, and ar- 
rangements were made to carry it into immediate 
effect. 

The barriers were closed for forty-eight hours 
from the evening of the 29th of August, 1792, 
and no one was allowed to leave the city on any 
account during that interval of time. Even the 
country people, if they lingered beyond the hour, 
261 



DANTON 

were not permitted to pass out of the gates. As 
daylight waned and just as the early shadows 
of night began to fall upon the city, the din and 
confusion of business ceased; streets that had 
been crowded with pedestrians and all sorts of 
vehicles, suddenly became as quiet as the grave; 
people scurried home from every direction to 
await the arrival of the patrol, for householders 
could more easily identify themselves in their 
dwellings than abroad ; cafes and places of amuse- 
ment were closed; and a hush fell upon the city 
that was not only oppressive but terrifying. Pic- 
ture, if you can, a capital in the rush of life, with 
its activities in full swing suddenly, instantly, 
becoming as motionless as if it were dead, its 
inhabitants cowering with terror in their homes. 
It had been directed by the authorities that 
after a certain hour every house should be lighted 
up in order that the search might be more quickly 
and effectively made. It was not until about 
midnight that the visits began. Patrols consist- 
ing of sixty pikemen were in every street. The 
tumult created by these armed men soon disturbed 
the quiet of the night as the searchers knocked 
upon the house doors and broke down those that 
did not open. No one felt safe, for informers 
and spies had been at work and the authorities 
offered inducements to those who had informa- 
tion to give. It was a great opportunity for the 
low-minded to satisfy revenge and to settle old 
grudges, and many innocent people were made 
to suffer Nobles, priests and enemies of the 
Republic were seized and cast into prison. All 
262 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

persons that had belonged to the late court, or 
had been in any way connected with the palace, 
or had even expressed themselves in favor of any 
royalist measure or movement, fell into the class 
of the proscribed and were arrested. Every 
word ever uttered, every opinion ever expressed, 
every act ever done in behalf of royalty or against 
the Revolution was remembered and became the 
basis for denunciation and investigation. 

All places were searched; closets, wardrobes, 
chimneys, cellars, garrets, roofs, gardens, woods, 
promenades, even the boats on the Seine. Any 
person found in an abode other than his own was 
arrested unless he could give a satisfactory ex- 
planation for his presence. Hiding places were 
at a premium, and the loyalty of friendship was 
put to the test by the risks and dangers it was 
willing to assume in affording protection to those 
who were suspected. There were many instances 
of noble and heroic sacrifice, for hospitality was 
considered treason and affection was no excuse 
for the sheltering of traitors. Men were con- 
cealed beneath piles of rubbish, under floors, and 
in excavations made in walls; every stratagem 
that fear could invent was resorted to by those 
who expected arrest to avoid detection. 

The " suspects " were taken to the committee 
of the section in which they were found and then 
to the Commune ; here they were questioned, and, 
if detained, were committed to prison. 



263 



CHAPTER XX 

THE SEPTEMBER MASSACRES 

Some authorities state that from twelve to fif- 
teen thousand persons were arrested as a result 
of the domiciliary visits. Rumors were immedi- 
ately put in circulation that the prisoners were 
conspiring to overthrow the Republic. The 
armies of the coalition were gradually approach- 
ing. Would it be prudent, it was asked, for the 
patriots to go out into the field to meet the allies 
and leave the enemies of the Republic in the cap- 
ital? Would the women and children be safe 
when their defenders were absent ? " Can we go 
to war and leave 3,000 prisoners behind us in 
Paris who may break out and destroy our prop- 
erty and slaughter our wives and little ones?" 
There was a sickening suggestion in these ques- 
tions. 

The Revolution was already sniffing the blood 
of the unfortunate prisoners and their massacre 
was decided upon without delay. Maillard, a 
rabid revolutionist, was selected to perpetrate 
the bloody work. He had organized a band of 
blood-thirsty desperadoes ready for any enter- 
prise, no matter how diabolical. He had figured 
prominently in the events of the 5th and 6th 
of October when the women marched to Ver- 
264 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

sailles. He considered himself quite a political 
leader and was a demagogue of the lowest or- 
der, a representative of the riff-raff. Aristoph- 
anes, in his inimitable vein of satire in pictur- 
ing an Athenian leader of the rabble, describes 
one of his ilk : " You possess all the requisites 
for a politician — a vulgar tongue; you are of 
mean birth, a low fellow." 

Maillard was an idol of the mob, and supreme 
in the faubourg Saint Marceau. Loud in voice, 
bold in manner, and of an inflexible purpose; he 
was naturally a leader of the canaille. It is said 
of him that " he loved blood, he bore about 
heads, he displayed hearts, he cut up corpses." 
He had just taken part in another massacre, one 
which he had organized and conducted success- 
fully, so that he was fitted by experience for the 
work in hand. He was given notice to hold 
himself in readiness to act immediately upon a 
given signal, and was ordered to prepare blud- 
geons, to take precautions for preventing the 
cries of the victims, to procure vinegar, holly 
brooms, quick lime, and covered carts. 

Vague rumors were in circulation and fear 
and anxiety possessed the minds of the prisoners. 
Many of them were in communication with the 
outer world and were kept posted as to passing 
events. The royal family in the Temple trem- 
bled for their lives. 

The sections were wrought up to great ex- 
citement by the circulation of reports that the 
prisoners had made arrangements to break out 
of the dungeons at night to spread themselves 
265 



DANTON 

through the city, to destroy certain portions of 
it by fire, to carry off the king, and to throw 
open the gates and welcome the allies. This was 
a startling enough plot, yet no one seemed to 
consider the impossibility of its accomplishment. 
People in those days of excitement did not weigh 
such matters nicely, and they believed the rumors 
because it was stated that the information was 
obtained by the confession of one of the con- 
demned. 

An unfortunate incident only added fuel to 
the fire of frenzy. On the afternoon of the 2d 
of September sixteen priests in four hackney 
coaches were on their way from the Hotel de 
Ville, where they had been interrogated, to the 
Abbaye, where they were to be detained as " sus- 
pects." A crowd gathered on the Rue Dauphine, 
began to hiss and, drawing closer to the coaches, 
interfered with their progress. One of the 
priests, unable to restrain his temper, because of 
the insults, put his arm out of the window and 
struck a soldier or federe with his cane ; the latter 
sprang upon the steps of the vehicle and, draw- 
ing his sabre, plunged it thrice into the body of 
the offending prelate. This was the signal for 
slaughter and only three of the priests escaped 
the vengeance of the mob; among these was the 
abbe Sicard, teacher of the deaf and dumb, whose 
life was saved by the courage of a watch-maker 
named Monnot. This massacre increased the fe- 
rocity of the multitude and whetted their appetite 
for blood. 

The rabble marched through the streets and 
266 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

demanded the extermination of the prisoners; 
" to the sword with all aristocrats," was the cry. 
Danton's eloquence had already lashed the pas- 
sions of the mob into a fury and they were ready 
for any deed of violence. 

It was then that the signal was given and three 
hundred butchers, under the leadership of Mail- 
lard, began the inhuman slaughter known as the 
September massacres. The prisoners were con- 
ducted one by one from their cells and, after a 
short examination before an improvised tribunal 
of twelve judges, were delivered over to the ex- 
ecutioners, who stood at the door armed with 
bludgeons, daggers, pikes, swords, cutlasses, pis- 
tols and guns to strike, shoot and cut them down. 
Old and young fell before the vengeance of these 
assassins. That the work might be expedited 
courts were held also in the prisons. The defini- 
tion of Blackstone, " a court is a place wherein 
justice is judicially administered," had no appli- 
cation to these tribunals. Witnesses and rules of 
evidence went for naught. Hate sat in judgment 
and Vengeance pronounced the doom. 

All the tribunals were very similar. Around 
large tables, littered with papers, records, bottles 
of wine, glasses, pipes, and sabres sat the judges. 
They were not men learned in the law but were 
of the laboring classes, their woolen caps, hob- 
nailed shoes, and coarse aprons revealing this 
fact. Many of them took off their waistcoats 
and rolled up their shirt sleeves. They smoked 
and drank during the proceedings and ignored 
every feature of judicial demeanor and decorum. 
267 



DANTON 

When a prisoner was acquitted a voice cried out : 
" Let the man be set at liberty." If condemned 
the sentence was : " A la Force/' The door 
was then opened and the victim fell dead at the 
threshold. 

For three days the cruel work continued; the 
gutters ran blood, the mob reveled in slaughter 
until the prisons were emptied. A squad of 
butchers did the work; besmeared and bespat- 
tered with blood they gloated with ghoulish glee 
over the task. Hatless wretches, their arms bare 
and covered with gore, cut down the prisoners 
without mercy. The mob cheered and encour- 
aged the assassins at their work. The soul of 
pity was out of France. Night and day the hor- 
rid work went on. The murderers succeeded 
each other at the tribunal and at the wicket and 
became by turns judges and executioners. All 
this time they kept on drinking, placing their 
blood-stained glasses on the tables. Intoxication 
increased a ferocity that at best was unnatural. 

When they grew tired or hungry, the cut- 
throats rested from their task, seating themselves 
on stools or boxes near the wickets and eating 
their meals without even washing their blood- 
stained hands. They joked and chatted and 
compared notes, except when their voices were 
drowned by the shrieks of the victims and the 
cheers of the mob. 

In the midst of the slaughter one of the com- 
mittee members begged to be heard; he was 
granted an audience and the noise temporarily 
subsided. He mounted a chair and said : " Com- 
268 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

rades and friends, you are good patriots, your 
resentment is just. Open war to the enemies 
of the common good, neither truce nor mercy; 
it is war to the death! I feel like you, that they 
must all perish. And yet if you are good citizens 
you must love justice. There is not one of you 
but would shudder at the notion of shedding in- 
nocent blood." "Yes! Yes!" cried the people. 
" Well, then, I ask of you, if without inquiry or 
investigation, you fling yourselves like mad 
tigers on your fellow men — " Just here the 
speaker was interrupted by one of the butchers 
who with a bloody sabre forced his way through 
the crowd and said : " Tell us, Monsieur le Cit- 
oyen, would the Prussians and Austrians if they 
were at Paris investigate for the guilty? Would 
they not cut to the right and left as the Swiss 
did on August the tenth? I have a wife and five 
children whom I leave with my section when I 
go to war, and it is not my bargain that villains 
in this prison, for whom the doors will be opened 
by the other villains outside, shall kill my wife 
and children in the meanwhile. Die here or die 
on the frontiers, I am sure enough to be killed by 
these aristocrats one day, but I mean to sell them 
my life at a high price, and be it I or be it others, 
this prison shall be purged of these rascals. I 
am no speaker; I cannot stuff the ears of any- 
one, but you now know my views." The appeal 
for mercy for the innocent was lost and the 
slaughter was at once renewed. 

The reasons given by this assassin for his 
conduct were those that reconciled the commun- 
269 



DANTON 

ity to the massacres. The cruelty displayed by 
the butchers proves, however, that their actions 
were prompted as much by hate as by fear. 
Even many citizens who condemned the brutality 
of the murderers believed that the massacres 
were a necessity. 

At the Abbaye the executioners complained 
that the foremost alone got a stroke at the pris- 
oners, and that those who were not close to the 
wickets were deprived of taking any effective 
part in the slaughter. It was ordered, in con- 
sequence of this complaint, that those who were 
in a position to deliver the first blow should 
strike with the backs of their sabres, and the 
condemned, being able to run the gauntlet, thus 
afforded an opportunity for all to have a hand 
in the murder. The prolonging of the agony of 
the victim was not considered. 

In some localities formal requests were made 
to the Commune to furnish lights that the mas- 
sacres might be witnessed by night; in compli- 
ance with these demands lamps were placed near 
the wickets, where seats were reserved for both 
men and women. More than once women forced 
their way through the crowd and, getting close 
to the executioners, beat out the brains of the 
dying with billets of wood. 

Although the scenes witnessed showed the 
utter depravity of the human heart, yet on the 
other hand in some instances there was a display 
upon the part of the prisoners of a most exalted 
courage. Among the first victims condemned to 
death were the Swiss soldiers that had been im- 
270 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

prisoned since the ioth of August. There were 
one hundred and fifty of them and, as they ap- 
peared en masse before the tribunal, many sank 
upon their knees and begged for mercy. Some 
little time was lost here and the crowd outside 
were kept waiting. " Come on and end this mat- 
ter one way or another," called out one of the ex- 
ecutioners, opening the door and addressing the 
judges ; " the people are growing impatient." 
The Swiss recoiled as they heard the shouts of 
the rabble and huddled together still appealing 
for clemency. " Enough of this," exclaimed one 
of the judges, " who will be the first to go? " A 
young and handsome soldier stepped out from 
the midst of his companions and, standing apart, 
alone, with his arms folded across his breast, 
turned to the judges, saying: " I will go, show 
me the way." The door opened, and throwing 
his cap into the air and shouting gayly a last 
farewell to his comrades, he sprang forward as 
if dashing himself against the lines of an enemy 
in battle. It was soon over, sooner than it takes 
to tell the story, but his memory is embalmed in 
history and treasured in the hearts of all men 
that admire heroic resolve and true manly cour- 
age. 

M. Thierry, the king's valet, after a pike was 
run through his body, kept crying out : " God 
save the king." The assassins then burned his 
face with torches, but he still persisted in assev- 
erating his loyalty. 

One of the prisoners, the Count de St. Mart, 
had a spear run entirely through his body, and 
271 



DANTON 

while he was bent almost double with pain, the 
wretches, because he would not renounce his 
loyalty to the king, compelled him to crawl on 
his hands and knees; his terrible sufferings and 
writhings induced the jeers and the laughter of 
the heartless mob, until at last, to relieve his 
agony, they cut off his head. 

Masaubre, a young man at the conciergerie, 
had hidden himself in the chimney. Thinking 
he had escaped, the assassins determined to hold 
the jailer responsible. The latter, believing that 
the prisoner had not escaped but was concealing 
himself, fired a gun several times up the chim- 
ney; one of the balls struck Masaubre on the 
wrist, but he had sufficient fortitude to endure 
the pain in silence. The jailer then set fire to 
some straw on the hearth and the smoke soon so 
suffocated the prisoner that he fell to the ground. 
The executioners carried him out into the street 
and threw him on a heap of dead bodies, where 
he lingered in agony for about a quarter of an 
hour, until some one, perhaps out of compassion, 
put an end to his sufferings by shooting him five 
times through the head. 

The venerable Sombreuil, governor of the 
Invalides, was brought forward to the tribunal. 
His daughter perceived him from the prison and, 
rushing through the crowd, putting her life in 
peril every step of the way, reached the side of 
her father, threw her arms around his neck, and 
with tears streaming down her cheeks, besought 
the murderers to save his life. So impetuous, so 
intense, was her manner, so sincere her affection, 

2]2 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

that she softened the fury of the butchers. 
" Drink," they said, " the blood of the aristo- 
crats," and they handed to her a pot of blood. 
Without a moment's hesitation, so the story goes, 
she put it to her lips, and her father's life was 
saved. 

The daughter of Cazotte, when he was about 
to be cut down, threw herself on his neck and 
presenting her bosom to the swords of the assas- 
sins, cried out in desperation : " You shall not 
touch my father until you have forced your way 
through my heart." A shout for mercy went 
up from the crowd and the old man's life was 
spared. This faithful daughter, whose name 
was Elizabeth, in the exuberance of her joy 
embraced the butchers, covered with human 
blood, and then conducted her father to his home. 

At La Force was confined the beautiful Louisa 
of Savoy, Princess de Lamballe. She was to 
have been saved, her ransom had been paid, but 
for some reason or other the plan miscarried. 
vShe was subjected to a mock trial, and as she 
stepped over the threshold of the door, upon 
leaving the court-room, she was struck a severe 
blow on the back of the head with a hanger. 
Almost fainting from loss of blood she was led 
over dead bodies until at last the fiends com- 
pleted her murder by running her through with 
spears. She was then stripped and her naked 
body exposed for two hours to the insults of the 
rabble. Men were placed at her side to wipe off 
the blood when it oozed from her wounds and to 
call the attention of the spectators to the white- 
18 273 



DAXTON 

ness of the skin. Modesty would blush to read 
the recital of the acts of lustful indecency with 
which the corpse was denied, and these indecent 
acts were done in the presence of men, women, 
and children without the slightest protest from 
the authorities. Clery states that the mob at- 
tempted to rush into the Temple to carry the 
naked, bleeding body of the princess to the apart- 
ments of the queen, but some municipal officers 
prevented the intrusion. 

Her beautiful form at last was torn to pieces 
and the fragments divided among her execution- 
ers. Her head and heart were carried through 
Paris on the points of spears, the trunk of her 
body was trailed through the streets by a troop 
of drunken cannibals who were naked to the 
waist and smeared with blood. It is said a can- 
non was charged with one of her legs. Even her 
bloody chemise was waved in the air from the 
point of a pike like a trophy. The brute who 
carried the head on a pike suggested it should 
be taken to the foot of the throne. Accordingly, 
with a shout, the mob started for the Temple 
and the ghastly trophy was held before the win- 
dow of the queen's chamber, but fortunately she 
fainted and was thus saved from witnessing the 
horrible spectacle. Later a drunken wretch took 
her head into a tavern, placed it on the bar amidst 
glasses and bottles, then washed its features, 
combed the hair, and called on all present to 
drink to the health of Madame Veto's friend. 

Such ferocity is almost unparalleled; such 
scenes were never enacted in any other capital 

2/4 




Princess de Lamballe 

From an old engraving 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

in modern times. Perhaps never in the history 
of the world has there been among a civilized 
people such a display of savagery and of inde- 
cency. Men and women became fiendish in their 
desire to inflict cruelty. 

The Commune protected the butchers and the 
government took no action to restrain the crimes. 
Indeed, the assassins openly demanded the prom- 
ised reward for their work; they thronged to 
the doors, of the committee of the municipality 
and threatened the members with instant death 
if they were not immediately paid. " Look, I 
have only twenty- four francs," said a young 
baker, " and I have killed forty aristocrats with 
my own hands." 

The massacres continued for three days, the 
victims numbering from two to three thousand 
at least. Some authorities place the number as 
high as ten thousand. " The ditches of Clamart, 
the catacombs of the Barriere St. Jacques alone 
know the number." The most remarkable feat- 
ure of all is that the butchers did not exceed 
three hundred, and yet this handful of men actu- 
ally terrorized the whole city. These crimes 
were committed in the very heart of the capital, 
under the eyes of the Assembly and the munici- 
pal authorities. Fifty thousand National Guards 
were enrolled and could have been called into 
action at a moment's notice. Yet nothing was 
done to prevent this useless and inhuman slaugh- 
ter. 

From where did the men come who heart- 
lessly indulged in such cruelty and brutality, who 
275 



DANTON 

struck down their fellow creatures without com- 
passion, compunction or remorse? They came 
from the everyday walks of life and in times of 
peace would have followed their legitimate voca- 
tions. They were made inhuman by the condi- 
tions that surrounded them and after the Revolu- 
tion was over, many of them doubtless returned 
to their callings and spent the balance of their 
lives in useful pursuits. No question but that 
most of them were ashamed of the part they had 
taken in those scenes of violence and in after days 
thought of them with a shudder. Every commu- 
nity, perhaps, holds a similar class, that with a 
revolution would come to the surface. Like the 
dregs in wine, they need but agitation to bring 
them to the top. 

The description of those dreadful scenes may 
not be pleasant reading, but it is necessary if one 
is to understand and comprehend to its full mean- 
ing the French Revolution. Such hatred was 
not engendered in a day nor in a generation; it 
required centuries of tyranny, of cruel, insolent 
oppression to create and develop such a spirit of 
savage vindictiveness. 



276 



CHAPTER XXI 

PARIS DURING THE REVOLUTION MANNERS 

CUSTOMS — CONDITIONS THE GUILLOTINE 

While these terrible scenes were being enacted 
the life of Paris went on as usual; shops were 
busy, theatres were open, cafes were crowded, 
the streets were thronged with pedestrians. The 
farmer brought his products to market, fish- 
women scolded each other in the ordinary slang, 
hucksters and peddlers were as vociferous as 
ever in calling their wares, children went to 
school, the baker delivered his bread, the news- 
boy cried his extra, the doctor visited his patient, 
the lawyer prepared his brief, the curate — well, 
to tell the truth, there was not much for him to 
do. Religion was out of fashion. The cassock 
of the priest was regarded as the habit of trea- 
son. " To the lamp-post with all the bishops," 
was the frenzied cry of the rabble. The churches 
were closed, their great doors barred and bolted, 
the altars overturned and the faithful dispersed. 
" Where, through the long drawn aisle and 
fretted vault," had once been heard " the pealing 
anthem (swelling) the note of praise," now all 
was silent and dismal as the tomb.. The bells, 
instead of calling the faithful to prayer, now 
summoned the citizens to arms. They no longer 
ZJ7 



DANTON 

intoned the melting notes of the Angelus, but 
rang out the wild shriek of the tocsin. The State 
had endeavored to legislate religion out of exist- 
ence, forgetting that its abode is really in the 
hearts of men, and that the Church is but the 
symbol of their faith. 

The population of Paris in 1793 was about 
600,000. It was the largest and most important 
city on the continent. The cafes had greatly 
grown in favor, had increased in numbers, were 
frequented by both men and women, and were 
the meeting places for all classes, from the pro- 
letariat to the aristocrat. Each cafe had its sep- 
arate group. One known as the Hottot was a 
resort for the women of the slums and another 
called the Corazza was the favorite of the Jaco- 
bins. The Cafe Foy, in the Palais Royal, was 
the oldest in the city and was renowned as the 
place where Camille had called the people to 
arms on the 12th of July, 1789. The visitors 
began to drop into these resorts about 11 o'clock 
in the morning, but they were crowded the most 
at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. On holidays the 
gardens and public walks were filled with well- 
dressed people; Parisians were always fond of 
fine clothes and fresh air. Powdered wigs and 
queues were not so common as in the past, al- 
though Robespierre never abandoned his. Men 
as a rule wore trousers and top boots, instead of 
knee breeches, silk stockings, and buckled shoes. 

A real Jacobin of the people was known by 
his attire. He wore a coarse red woolen cap 
called a bonnet rouge, on the side of which was 
278 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

fastened his tri-color cockade — the symbol of the 
Revolution; his shirt was cut low at the neck, 
exposing- his throat and sometimes even a por- 
tion of his chest; he wore a long-sleeved waist- 
coat, known as a carmagnole, trousers extending" 
to his ankles, and his feet were either bare or 
encased in wooden clogs (sabots). His hair 
was cropped short at the temples. This livery of 
the Revolution was considered very vulgar in 
the eyes of the fops who were designated Mus- 
cadins — so nick-named by Hebert, the editor of 
the Pcre Duchesne, because of a kind of per- 
fume they carried called musk-pastilles. 

The dandies were as daintily dressed as in 
days agone. They wore high-crowned hats with 
broad rims; frock or long-tailed coats, generally 
green, gray, blue or olive in shade ; vests of most 
brilliant hues; cuffs and frills (jabots): great 
scarfs that covered the throat and were arranged 
in some cases so as to reach above the point of 
the chin; short or knee breeches (culottes); silk 
stockings and buckled shoes. They cultivated 
the moustache and their hair was allowed to 
grow long, being either brushed back so as to 
fall loosely to the shoulders or else done up in a 
queue and powdered. They wore jeweled pins 
in their scarfs, carried large round eye-glasses, 
scent bottles, snuff boxes and heavy walking 
sticks. The last they did not hesitate to use in a 
fracas. They frequented certain cafes and well- 
known gambling houses. They were not Jaco- 
bins and their bete noir was Marat. Sons of 
brokers, bankers, merchants and the well-to-do 
279 



DANTON 

of the middle class, they may be considered as 
the fore-runners of the jeunesse doree. 

The apparel of women underwent a great 
change during the Revolution. The fashions that 
had obtained at Trianon, at the court of Ver- 
sailles, or during the days of the ancient regime, 
were out of date as not in keeping with demo- 
cratic simplicity. Waists were discountenanced 
and instead of stiffened skirts and narrow bod- 
ices, women wore short loose robes, after the 
style of the Greek chitons, which they draped 
gracefully in imitation of the Athenian Aspa- 
sias. Girdles a la Cleopatra were also much in 
vogue among a certain class. High-heeled shoes 
were displaced by sandals and in many instances, 
among the ultra fashionable, the feet were with- 
out stockings, if the feet were small, pink and 
dimpled. The hair instead of being dressed in 
towers, or a la Pompadour, was allowed to hang 
loosely down the back. For ornaments gun met- 
al and steel instead of gold and silver were used, 
for it was presumed that every loyal woman had 
sent her jewelry to the National treasury. 

All titles of nobility were abolished. There 
were no coats-of-arms, crests, escutcheons, or 
heraldic designs to be seen even on business or 
shop signs. Tailors, shoemakers, and haberdash- 
ers no longer proudly announced that they were 
makers to his majesty, to his excellency, to his 
highness, or to duke so and so. People familiarly 
addressed each other in the second person — a 
custom known as tutoyer — and as Citizen and 
Citizeness. Madame and Monsieur as terms of 
280 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

address were too aristocratic. A most peculiar 
custom grew into favor/ that of dropping the 
Christian or baptismal name and adopting in its 
place a classical designation; especially was this 
the case with those rampant republicans who were 
called Louis. This name was too suggestive 
of royal relationship; so it was discarded and 
appellations were seriously chosen from a Greek 
or Roman nomenclature. This custom, however, 
was not confined alone to everyday people and 
to those who were named Louis, for many men 
of distinction accepted it as the proper thing to 
do. Coffinhall, president of the Revolutionary 
Tribunal, adopted the prefix Mucius Scsevola; 
Chaumette chose Anaxagoras as specially appro- 
priate and the wild Clootz called himself Ana- 
charsis. Pitou, the witty royalist poet, ridiculed 
the fashion; one of his favorite songs was about 
a cobbler, " Cujus," and his wife, " Cujusdam." 

Even games were changed. Kings, queens, 
and knaves disappeared from playing cards and 
their places were taken by figures or designs 
representing Fraternite, Egalite, and Liber te. 
In checkers it was deemed treason to crown a 
king. I have not been able to ascertain what 
disposition was made of the king, queen, and 
knight of the royal game of chess. It would 
perhaps have cost a patriot his reputation if he 
had been found indulging in so aristocratic an 
amusement. 

Equipages were not so sumptuous and luxu- 
rious as in the past. If the coachmen and foot- 
men were liveried, they were in very plain and 
281 



DANTON 

sombre habits; even the horses seemed meeker 
and the harness was less ornamented with gold 
and silver than in the days when the nobles reck- 
lessly dashed with their prancing steeds through 
the streets, utterly regardless of the rights and 
the lives of pedestrians. 

Occasionally a crowd of hoodlums, shrieking 
like demons, would rush through the shopping 
districts of the city, bearing a ghastly head upon 
a pike or dragging at the end of a rope a bleed- 
ing, muddy corpse. Women would shriek, bury 
their faces in their hands, as they have done 
when frightened from time immemorial, and run 
into the adjoining stores; business would be tem- 
porarily suspended, but was resumed as soon as 
the tatterdemalions disappeared. 

There was of course great excitement in the 
immediate vicinity of the prisons when the mas- 
sacres and lynchings were taking place. Great 
crowds gathered, and necessarily at these points 
there was wild commotion, but really outside of 
these localities the everyday life of Paris revealed 
but little if any change. True, the death carts 
rumbled through the streets carrying the victims 
to execution. Some of the prisoners would be 
singing, some praying, others wildly appealing 
to the people, but these processions became so 
common, so frequent, that in time if the con- 
demned were not distinguished they attracted as 
a rule only passing notice. The busy man, after 
watching them for a moment, would turn on 
his heel and hurry away to keep his engagement. 

Many of the scenes of the French Revolution 
282 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

were so terrible that we marvel how a man of 
peace could have existed during that period; but 
it must be borne in mind that history describes 
only the extraordinary or abnormal events, and 
between them were great stretches or intervals 
of time in which life flowed on in its ordinary 
channels. " The ' Reign of Terror ' in Paris," 
says Stephens, " seems to us a time unparalleled 
in the history of the world; yet to the great 
majority of contemporaries it did not appear so. 
They lived their ordinary lives, and it was only in 
exceptional cases that the serenity of their days 
was interrupted or that their minds were exer- 
cised by anything more than the necessity of 
earning their daily bread." 

The Revolution interfered only with those 
who took part in it. The citizen who kept up 
his show of loyalty to the Republic, who quietly 
attended to his own affairs, without too plainly 
expressing his views, and who refrained from 
taking too active a part in public matters could 
pursue the even tenor of his way and avoid hav- 
ing his head taken off. Of great convenience 
was the carte de surcte, a guarantee of loyalty 
to the government which every person, whether 
man or woman, was compelled to obtain from 
the Revolutionary Committee. This card had to 
be produced whenever called for by any citizen, 
and failure or refusal to show it would subject 
the person so offending to arrest and investiga- 
tion. 

Executions were so frequent, blood was so 
cheap, and men had grown so familiar with 
283 



DANTON 

death, that in a great measure it had lost its 
terrors, and with this insecurity of life there de- 
veloped a fondness for all kinds of sensual en- 
joyment. Men and women endeavored " to bury 
anxiety in the delirium of pleasure." Paris never 
was gayer than during the " Reign of Terror; " 
from September, 1793, to July, 1794, according 
to Mercier there were twenty-three theatres and 
sixty dancing saloons open every night. The 
Parisians were like those people who reside in 
an active earthquake zone, or at the base of a 
volcanic mountain, who give no thought to the 
imminent peril, or else indulge in gayety and 
dissipation to forget it. In a prolonged siege it 
is said that the inhabitants of the beleaguered 
town or city become defiant and reckless in the 
face of continued danger. Where a shrieking 
shell at first blanches the cheeks of the bravest, 
it fails at last to make even the timid shudder. 
Time was no longer reckoned as Anno Dom- 
ini, in the year of Our Lord, but as Anno Repub- 
licae, in the year of the Republic. The Julian 
Calendar was out of date and the Christian Sun- 
day was abolished. Every tenth day instead of 
every seventh was a holiday. The year was 
divided into twelve months, but to each month 
were assigned thirty days. This left in each year 
five days to be disposed of and it was decided 
that these should be observed as festivals and 
called Sanscullotides. The additional day in leap 
year was added to this list. The year had its 
four seasons, three months in each season, but 
to each month was given a new poetical 
284 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

designation. Vendemiaire, Briimaire, and Fri- 
maire were the autumn months of Vintage, Fog 
and Frost. Nivose, Pluviose, Ventose were the 
winter months of Snow, Rain, and Wind. Ger- 
minal, Floreal and Prairial were the spring 
months of Buds, Flowers and Meadows. Mes- 
sidor, Thermidor and Fructidor were the sum- 
mer months of Harvest, Heat and Fruit. The 
new almanac began to compute time from the 
2 ist of September, 1792, which date was marked 
as the beginning of the first year of the Republic. 

During all the time of Revolution the Assem- 
bly was the centre of attraction. " Here 
swarmed, jostled, challenged, threatened, fought 
and lived all those combatants that are to-day 
but phantoms." Here occurred scenes such as 
were never before witnessed in any legislative 
body in the history of the world. Here were 
enacted laws that breathed the very spirit of lib- 
erty as well as laws that outraged every principle 
of justice and offended every sentiment of hu- 
manity, whose every sentence was written in 
blood. 

The delegates were divided into factions and 
parties, the principal among them being the Dan- 
tonists, the Jacobins, and the Girondins. These 
had their platforms well constructed. There 
were also other groups that professed to be inde- 
pendent; they ignored party allegiance and their 
political principles were as dim as dreams. 

The seats in the hall were arranged in the 
form of an amphitheatre. The top rows on the 
left were occupied by the Jacobins which loca- 
285 



DANTON 

tion was called the Mountain, and the delegates 
occupying this eminence were designated the 
Mountaineers. The moderates and conservatives 
were on the right. The seats on the lower rows 
and the ground floor were known as the Plain 
or the Marsh, and the deputies were often re- 
ferred to, sometimes jocularly, sometimes con- 
temptuously, as the Frogs of the Marsh. The 
sessions were frequently tumultuous. Party 
spirit ran high and was bitter; controversies 
were hot and vehement; and the orators bandied 
epithets from one to another without reservation. 
The galleries were crowded with a noisy rabble 
who interrupted the proceedings of the Assem- 
bly, and, in the later days of the Revolution, con- 
trolled in a great measure the deliberations of 
that body. A threat from them to an offending 
deputy was not a thing to be ignored. The 
president used a bell instead of a gavel to call 
the convention to order, and at times the din 
was so great that the bell could scarcely be 
heard. 

During the " Reign of Terror," the aristocrats 
and royalists confined in the convents and prisons 
endeavored to make life as comfortable and as 
agreeable as possible under the circumstances. 
All the amenities and the etiquette of polite so- 
ciety were practised in precise form. Conversa- 
tion was as brilliant, wit as lively, satire as keen, 
and gossip as delightful as they had been in the 
drawing-rooms of the past. 

The names of the condemned were called every 
day and the partings between friends were in 
286 






THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

many cases very sad, but in nearly every instance 
the courage shown was superb. Men and women 
went to the scaffold with as nonchalant an air 
as if going to dinner. Much of this apparent 
lightness of heart may have been mere bravado, 
but it nevertheless was a display of fine nerve. 
Lord Byron, commenting upon this, says : " It 
became the fashion to leave some ' mot ' as a leg- 
acy and the facetious words spoken by the vic- 
tims on their way to execution would make a 
jest book of great size and of considerable in- 
terest." The prisoners whiled away the time in 
playing games, and some, it is said, even indulged 
in sly flirtations — " the ruling passion strong in 
death." One favorite amusement was rehearsing 
the part they would enact if chance brought them 
to the scaffold. Gracefully and with a haughty 
demeanor ladies would approach and mount the 
steps of an imaginary guillotine and with perfect 
sang-froid lose their heads. Those who played 
the role with the greatest skill would be rewarded 
with the plaudits and congratulations of admiring 
friends. People living in apprehension of con- 
stant peril grow careless and indifferent, especially 
in such a time as the Revolution. 

It was bad enough for the noble who remained 
in the country to suffer imprisonment and death, 
but his condition was not much worse than that of 
the noble who fled. The latter was an exile, a 
wanderer in strange lands, or " hovered discon- 
solate over the Rhine with Conde." His cha- 
teau was burned, his income cut off, his money 
gone; he must either work, live on charity or 
287, 



DANTON 

starve. His pride urged him to suffer the last 
rather than attempt the first. He was truly a 
pitiable object, born to luxury, to ease, to indo- 
lence, to extravagance, and taught that labor was 
menial and beneath him, he was too proud to be 
anything but a pauper. 

The death penalty inflicted by the instrument 
known as the guillotine was a cruel, an inhuman 
method of punishment; it was only one degree 
removed from the block and axe, and these all 
civilized nations now considered barbarous. This 
fatal instrument was named after its inventor, M. 
Guillotin, a physician of great respectability, born 
in Paris in 1738. Strange as it may seem, he was 
of a most kindly and sympathetic nature. He 
was a member of the States-General in 1789, and 
was appointed on a committee to revise the Penal 
Code ; from sentiments of humanity alone he pro- 
posed as a substitute for the hangman's noose or 
the sword of the headsman, the knife of the guil- 
lotine. He thought it would end the sufferings 
of the victim sooner than any other method of 
execution known. " With my machine, 
Messieurs, I whisk off your head in a twinkling 
and you have no pain." Poor doctor! he is 
" doomed by a satiric destiny to the strangest 
immortal glory . . . his name like to outlive 
Caesar's." He reached a good ripe age and died 
a natural death; fortunately for him he was not 
called upon to test the efficiency of his invention. 
The horrible use made of the machine, which he 
had originated, and which was sometimes called 
his daughter, haunted him to his dying hour. 
288 




Dr. Guillotin 
From an engraving in the collection of 
William J. Latta, Esq. 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

His name being so inseparably connected with 
this dreadful instrument he was looked upon by 
many as a monster, but he was one of the gentlest 
and most inoffensive men of the Revolution. No 
one deplored more than he the use to which his 
invention was put. 

When the guillotine was originally suggested 
as an instrument of execution, it was laughed at 
in all quarters. At first it was called " la Mira- 
belle," so christened by Rivarol, the royalist 
editor of the Actes dcs Apotrcs, in ridicule of 
Mirabeau. It seems strange that an implement 
that was to deluge the land with blood should 
have been a butt for the wits, satirists, and comic 
poets of the day. 

At supper parties, among the upper classes, it 
was a fad to set a small wooden guillotine upon 
the table when dessert was served. The ladies 
then amused themselves by placing little dolls 
under the knife and when the heads were severed 
a stream of cologne would flow, into which the 
fair ones dipped their handkerchiefs. 

In 1790 the Assembly decreed that the death 
sentence should be executed only by decapitation, 
and in 1792 the guillotine was accepted by the 
government after Samson, the headsman, had 
explained that beheading by the sword was most 
unsatisfactory and that the guillotine would 
remove the difficulties incident to that oriental 
method of inflicting death. 

It is a grewsome, harrowing sight to witness 
the human head severed from the body, and yet 
this butchery went on day after day in the view 
19 289 



DANTON 

of the public. Men, women and children wit- 
nessed the executions, and the whole community 
was brutalized by the spectacle. To complete 
the bloody performance the executioner, when 
the head fell into the basket, would lift it up by 
the hair and, while the eyes were still open, the 
muscles quivering, and the blood was streaming 
from the throat, would show it to the multitude, 
who shouted their approval by cries of " Long 
live the nation," " Long live the Republic ! " 

Such a scene ordinarily would make a brave 
man shudder and a tender woman faint; yet the 
people became so familiar with it that they would 
stand for hours to watch the executions out of 
mere idle curiosity, and at times would applaud 
the courage or jeer the craven spirit displayed 
by the unfortunate victims. One man who never 
missed an execution and who regularly followed 
the carts to the scaffold, called it " going to the 
red mass." 

There was quite a trade in blond perukes made 
from the hair of guillotined women, and at Meu- 
don, according to Montgaillard, there was a fac- 
tory where were tanned such of the skins of the 
guillotined " as seemed worth flaying." The 
skin of the men was tough and answered certain 
commercial demands ; it made " good wash 
leather for breeches and other uses;" but that of 
women was " so soft in texture that it was good 
for almost nothing." 

The minds of men were so affected by sur- 
rounding scenes and circumstances that their sen- 
sibilities became warped or blunted, and by their 
290 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

conduct they exhibited an indifference to the 
decencies of life that was cruel and inhuman. 
They practised in a civilized community the cus- 
toms of the savage who adorns his belt with the 
scalps of his victims. The habits of the North 
American Indian and the South Sea islander were 
in vogue in Paris. Men and women, it is said, 
wore as ornaments miniature guillotines made of 
gun metal; children played with toy guillotines, 
and in the candy shops were sold sugar figures 
representing human beings, from which, when 
the head was severed by the knife of the toy 
machine, a red jelly or syrup resembling blood 
would ooze. Even the mob, when they struck 
down their victim, began immediately to hack 
and chop off the head, a sickening and cruel oper- 
ation. They did not deem their work as com- 
plete until they effected the decapitation and 
mounted the head on a pike to be carried in tri- 
umph through the public streets. This idea was 
due in part, no doubt, to the example set by the 
guillotine. The custom brutalized the nation and 
made the Revolution tenfold bloodier than it 
otherwise would have been. Had it not been 
for this terrible instrument the Revolution might 
have been a different story. 

Women took an active and a prominent part 
in the Revolution and exerted a most potential 
influence. Marie Antoinette and Madame 
Roland played conspicuous roles in the drama and 
without doubt, because of their prejudices, indis- 
cretions, and unwise utterances, did more harm 
than good to their respective causes. Madame 
291 



DANTON 

de Stael and Madame Condorcet in the early 
period of the Revolution entertained extensively, 
and in the opinion of their followers spoke on 
political topics with almost oracular power. It 
was an army of women that on the 5th of October 
marched to Versailles and brought back with 
them the king to his capital. Theroigne de Meri- 
court, a young and beautiful woman, a leader of 
the demi-monde and the proprietress of the most 
notorious " maison de joie " in Paris, rode astride 
a cannon on the 5th of October on the march to 
Versailles, and on the 10th of August with her 
own right arm helped to cut down the royalists 
that had taken refuge in a deserted building close 
to the Tuileries. 

In every violent scene women were present 
marching in the processions, mingling with the 
crowds, and urging the men to desperate deeds. 
They cheered and encouraged the butchers at 
work during the September massacres. These 
hags were as cruel as fate, as pitiless as hell itself. 
Women were employed by the insurrectionary 
committee to follow the tumbrils, and howl their 
imprecations at the condemned from the prison 
to the scaffold. 

A number of female societies were organized 
after the manner of the Jacobins. They held 
meetings, discussed public questions and some- 
times attended the sessions of the Assembly in 
a body. They were presided over by well-known 
female revolutionists and among their most dis- 
tinguished leaders were Rose Lacombe, Renee 
Andu, and Marie Louise Bonju. Crowds of 
292 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

noisy women from these clubs would parade 
through the streets and insult on every hand well- 
dressed and respectable looking- people. In time 
they became such a nuisance and such disturbers 
of the public peace that by order of the Great 
Committee they were driven from the highways 
and excluded from the galleries of the Conven- 
tion. When they insisted upon their right as 
citizens to attend the sessions they were told that 
the Republic had no need of Joans of Arc, and 
that, until the State required their services, they 
could devote themselves to their household duties 
which, because of their active participation in 
public affairs, they had long and sadly neglected. 
The knitters, " les tricotcuses," sat in the 
shadow of the guillotine and kept tally of the 
executions by dropping a stitch every time a head 
fell into the basket, not a very decent or seemly 
occupation for women. The authorities specially 
assigned them seats for this purpose in recogni- 
tion of the part they had taken in the events of 
the 5th and 6th of October. The women of the 
markets, " les dames des holies" gathered 
around the house of Target and threatened to 
mob him because he had declined to represent 
the king at his trial. Charlotte Corday murdered 
Marat, but thereby doomed her friends to destruc- 
tion. Rose Lacombe, " a daughter without a 
mother, born by chance in the coulisses of a pro- 
vincial theatre," young, beautiful, stately, and 
with an eloquence somewhat declamatory, took a 
part not inconspicuous. She had considerable 
influence with the Commune and was popular with 
293 



DANTON 

the masses. She scolded and berated the Conven- 
tion and many of the deputies bent before her; 
the only one who closed the door in her face was 
Robespierre. Olympe de Gouges and Saint- 
Amaranthe, the latter better known, perhaps, as 
Egeria, wielded some political power through the 
influential and distinguished men they seduced by 
their charms. 

In order to understand or to account for the 
excesses of the Revolution it is necessary to study 
its causes; otherwise it will appear to be an orgy 
of crime in which the passions of men indulged 
in the shedding of innocent blood without excuse 
or justification. When one calmly and without 
prejudice reviews the causes, however, every 
excess, no matter how cruel, seems to be in the 
nature of retributive justice; it was but the aven- 
ging of the tyranny, the crimes, and the agony of 
centuries. 

The " Reign of Terror " was possible only 
with a people that had broken away from the 
restraints of religion and the humanizing in- 
fluences of Christianity. The Church, by its 
avarice, corruption, hypocrisy, skepticism, impos- 
ture, bigotry and base superstition, had destroyed 
the faith of men in its teachings and when the 
Revolution broke forth almost the first thing it 
did was to raze to the ground that venerable 
edifice which from time immemorial had shielded 
and nurtured the virtues of mankind. Its in- 
fluence over men was gone, and, released from 
its restraint, they gave way to their lowest 
passions. 

294 



CHAPTER XXII 

WAS DANTON RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SEPTEMBER 
MASSACRES ? LA FAYETTE ABANDONS HIS COM- 
MAND DUMOURIEZ NAMED HIS SUCCESSOR — 

CANNONADE OF VALMY DANTON'S ENERGY 

DUKE DE CHARTRES DUMOURIEZ IN PARIS 

Who was responsible for the September 
massacres? The whole community might be 
held guilty as accomplices, but that is out of the 
question in the opinion of Edmund Burke, who 
declared that it is impossible to indict an entire 
people. Prudhomme, in his " History of 
Crimes," says : " This terrible demagogue, Dan- 
ton, with frightful unconcern arranged every- 
thing for those unparalleled murders." 

Without doubt, Danton was in a great meas- 
ure instrumental in bringing them about. He 
had aroused the fury of the rabble and openly 
declared that the royalists must be terrorized. 
In an address before the Assembly he had argued 
for the domiciliary visits; in fact it was at his 
suggestion that a decree was passed authorizing 
them. It was his plan that had filled the prisons 
and his inflammatory speeches that had whetted 
the appetite of the mob for blood. " We must 
throw over the useless luggage in a storm, the 
ship will founder if you do not lighten it/' he 
295 



DANTON 

had said. There was a dreadful suggestion in 
these words. During the continuance of the 
massacres he never raised his voice against these 
monstrous crimes. It is said that when some 
one spoke about the cruelty practised he coolly 
answered, " Damn the prisoners ; let them take 
care of themselves." Yet he showed much 
humane feeling when he saved Duport, the Abbe 
Berardier, and Charles Lameth; and his con- 
duct in these instances proved that he had the 
courage to defy even the butchers, for depriving 
them of their victims was like snatching prey from 
a pack of hungry wolves. 

Danton never attempted to excuse the part he 
had taken in the events from the ioth of August 
to the end of the September massacres. In 
answer to a charge flung into his teeth by the 
Girondins that he was responsible for these mur- 
ders, he boldly declared : " I looked my crime 
steadfastly in the face and I did it." The over- 
throw of the monarchy, the establishment of the 
republic, and the extermination of the royalists 
constituted a drama in three acts. They were 
but parts of one scheme, and the dominating spirit 
in all these terrible scenes was Danton. His 
gigantic figure looms up out of the din and 
smoke of that period and, with a commanding 
air, moves unscathed and defiant through blood 
and flame, like one of the mighty souls in the 
lurid glare of Dante's Inferno. 

It was indeed Danton who inaugurated the 
" Reign of Terror." It was his resolution, his 
audacity, his great courage that enabled him to 
296 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

strike blow after blow until the monarchy 
crumbled and fell into a heap of ruins. If it 
were necessary to resort to this violence and 
bloodshed to secure the establishment of popular 
government, then he truthfully may be called the 
Father of the Republic. When the butcheries 
were over he exultantly exclaimed : " We have 
rolled between the Revolution and its enemies a 
river of blood." 

Lacretelle says of Danton : " Terror indeed 
was his system, but he thought of securing its 
effects with a sword suspended, not incessantly 
plunged into the breast of a victim. He pre- 
ferred a massacre to a long 1 succession of execu- 
tions." " He was an exterminator, but without 
ferocity," says Mignet. 

" The greatest blot of his administration," in 
the opinion of Stephens, " was his indifference 
during the massacres in the prisons, for his power 
could have stopped them at once. But," con- 
tinues the same author, " he regarded these meas- 
ures as an advantage to France and believed that 
they cleared the way for a new and more ener- 
getic government." 

Madame Roland contended that it was Dan- 
ton's duty to suppress the massacres, but she so 
expressed herself out of a hatred for Danton and 
at the same time for the purpose of shielding her 
husband, who as minister of the interior had 
been accused of criminal inactivity. 

On September 3d Roland wrote : " Yesterday 
was a day on the events of which we should per- 
haps cast a veil. I know that the people is ter- 
297 



DANTON 

rible in its vengeance, yet tempers it with a sort 
of justice, not indiscriminately immolating the 
objects of its fury, but directing it against those 
who have been too long spared by the sword 
of the law, and whose immediate death is de- 
manded by the dangers of the hour. But I know 
that it is easy for wretched traitors to abuse such 
an effervescence. I know that we owe it to all 
France to declare that the executive have been 
able neither to foresee nor to prevent these ex- 
cesses." This was the defense of a weak man, 
who, in an attempt to excuse the executive, put 
the blame on the people without offending 
them. 

After the massacres began perhaps neither the 
minister of justice, the minister of the interior, 
nor the entire executive could have altogether 
stopped them, but there should have been power 
lodged somewhere that could have avoided such 
infamy and such disgrace to France and the Rev- 
olution. It was the beginning of the deluge of 
blood in the " Reign of Terror " that over- 
whelmed throne and altar, king and priest, aristo- 
crat and bourgeoise, and at last engulfed the fac- 
tions in its vortex. 

The belief that it would be unsafe to leave the 
royalists in Paris to plot, to scheme, and to con- 
spire while the patriots were in the army facing 
the allies may have been well founded and may 
have created a genuine fear in the minds of the 
revolutionists. The domiciliary visits and the 
arrest and imprisonment of the royalists may 
have been a necessity, the safety of the Republic 
298 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

may have required these measures, but there was 
no excuse for the horrible lynchings. The 
methods of trial and execution were cruel, bar- 
baric; the utter disregard of all forms of law 
and the brutal butcheries were without any 
excuse. Such conditions and such scenes as were 
witnessed were a disgrace to a civilized state and 
people. 

Without, however, in any way attempting a 
defense for this slaughter of unarmed men and 
women, let us draw one or two comparisons to 
see if they will not in a measure soften the judg- 
ment. 

The proscriptions of the patrician Sulla in 
Rome were bloodier and more numerous a thou- 
sand fold than those of the plebeian Danton in 
France. 

In August, ^572, upon a memorable night in 
the reign of Charles IX, the kennels of Paris ran 
blood until the Seine was reddened. The 
massacre of the Huguenots under a king was 
more cruel and treacherous than that of aristo- 
crats under the Republic. Religious intolerance 
had its St. Bartholomew, and the Revolution had 
its September the Second. Let any fair-minded 
reader after a careful study of the facts, pro- 
nounce judgment as to which was the worse. 

The Church had its Reign of Terror in the 
days of the Spanish Inquisition, and perhaps it 
may be alleged in all truthfulness that the cruel- 
ties practised by the Church while Alva was in 
the Netherlands were even a shade darker than 
those which disgraced the Revolution. It is 
299 



DANTON 

difficult to improve on the rack, the stake, and 
the iron-maiden as instruments of torture. 

But let us return to the events of 1792. After 
the 10th of August La Fayette saw that his for- 
tunes had waned; the Revolution had gone 
beyond him, so he mounted his steed and gal- 
loped across the borders. Through the personal 
influence of Danton, Dumouriez was named his 
successor and at once put in command. The 
future looked dark and gloomy. Paris was 
thrown into a spasm. " France with all its fron- 
tiers open had for security nothing but the small 
forest of Argonne and the genius of Dumouriez." 

Fortunately for the Republic the enemy was 
not well commanded. Brunswick was a parlor 
soldier; he advanced by easy stages, rain over- 
took him, and his troops and artillery were stuck 
in the mud. His army fed on unripe grapes. 
Mire and the dysentery sapped not only the 
strength but also the courage of his soldiers. 

The emigrants had predicted that the invasion 
of the army would be a triumphal march, that 
the towns would throw open their gates to them, 
that the people would welcome them every step 
of the way, that all France outside of Paris was 
opposed to the Revolution and would gladly aid 
and greet the invaders, whom they would em- 
brace as deliverers. The outcome showed that 
they had been sadly mistaken. 

The Prussians had engaged in the invasion as 
a sort of outing. They had made no prepara- 
tions sufficient for a lengthy or a severe cam- 
paign. At times they marched in mud up to their 
300 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

knees, and once for nearly a week had nothing 
to eat but boiled corn. 

On September 17th, Valmy was reached and 
here occurred an engagement. From a military 
point of view it amounted to nothing, but in its 
final effect it was a most important one, for from 
this battle may be dated the beginning of that 
glorious military career that carried the standard 
of France into every continental capital from 
Berlin to Vienna and at last to the Kremlin. 

The Prussians began cannonading the defenses 
of the town, to which the French replied sharply. 
The Prussians then advanced their line of battle, 
but the French, to the great amazement of their 
assailants, held their ground and gave no sign 
of retreating. The Prussian commanders called 
a council of war and after careful consideration 
it was decided under all the circumstances there 
was nothing left to do but to withdraw. It seems 
never to have occurred to them to charge the 
redoubts or to begin a lengthy siege. " The can- 
nonade of Valmy " came suddenly to an end. 
About a thousand men had been killed on both 
sides. It is said the Prussians bribed the French 
not to molest them while on the retreat. There 
is a story to the effect that they were tired of the 
campaign, and only too glad to turn their backs 
upon the town. Other reasons given in explana- 
tion of their conduct are that they felt they had 
been deceived by the emigrants, that they had no 
real interest in the war, and further that they 
could not successfully co-operate with the Aus- 
trians. One rumor that seems to have some foun- 
301 



DANTON 

dation is that the Princess Lichtenau, mistress of 
the king of Prussia, was bribed by one of the 
agents of Danton to induce her royal lover to 
withdraw from the invasion ; for it is well known 
that at this time Danton was using extensively the 
secret service funds. Be this as it may, for some 
strange reason the Prussians abandoned the cam- 
paign. 

The victory aroused an ardor so patriotic and 
a desire for military glory so great in the heart 
of France, that her sons sprang to arms all over 
the Republic, and her armies in time became, un- 
der the leadership of the modern Caesar, as invin- 
cible as the legions of Rome. 

It was the spirit inspired by the Revolution 
and the enthusiasm born of the Republic that 
made them the most dauntless soldiers of their 
day and generation. Their victories stretched 
from the Tiber to the Nile, from Areola to Abou- 
kir. They fought on the sunny plains of Italy 
and in the shadows of the everlasting pyramids. 
And when alas! the Republic, which had cost in 
its creation so much blood and agony, was merged 
by usurpation into the empire, they followed the 
victorious eagles of Napoleon until at last, defy- 
ing the elements, he led them into suffering and 
defeat in the depths of a Russian winter. Hurled 
back by fire and frost, their retreat was marked 
with blood and death from Moscow to the Bere- 
sina. Overwhelmed at Leipsic, the lion writhing 
in his toils made the final struggle at Waterloo, 
and then came the bleak story of St. Helena. 
This closed the last scene of the Revolution. It 
302 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

was the period of which we are speaking that pre- 
pared the way for that great military career, 
before which the whole world stood in amaze- 
ment. 

The French troops met with further success 
under General Custine, and the Assembly an- 
nounced to the world that the Republic was fight- 
ing to free all nations, all peoples, from the 
tyranny of kings. The gates of several German 
cities were thrown open to welcome the French 
troops and this was hailed by France as the 
dawning of a new era in the world's freedom. 

Danton's energy, at this time, was indefatig- 
able. He was the Revolution. No leader in any 
period of its existence exerted so potential an 
influence, did so much, and stood for so much 
as he. His imperial will dominated his col- 
leagues; his superb audacity terrorized his 
enemies. He was not in any wise particular 
about the means he adopted to accomplish his 
ends; an object had to be attained, and he did not 
hesitate to bribe, subsidize, or resort to any 
method that would enable him to gain his end. 
He drew extensively upon the public treasury and 
lavishly spent money through the secret service. 
There was no economy practised in his negotia- 
tions. If gold could accomplish his purpose, the 
amount was of minor consideration. His agents 
and spies were out in every direction. They 
mingled with the emigrants at Coblentz, sat at the 
counsel table of the allies, and were in close touch 
with the royal courts of Vienna and Berlin. 

In this time of turmoil, Danton rose in grand, 
303 



DANTON 

in magnificent proportions above all around him. 
The work he had in hand required measures that 
were drastic; no half-hearted policy would have 
met the conditions. No timid, hesitating or halt- 
ing man would have been equal to the occasion. 
He was the leader, the factor, the controlling 
influence of that decisive period, and his efforts 
resulted in making the Republic a fact. The 
Girondins were already supplanted. These phil- 
osophers moralized over the passing events, but 
they did and could do nothing to change the pre- 
vailing policy. In the wild swirl of politics they 
were being wrecked and cast ashore. Their 
remonstrances were not heard. They sipped tea 
in the house of the Rolands and talked eloquently 
in the Assembly, but Danton, with his overpow- 
ering energy and robust methods of administra- 
tion, was making history while they were only 
making speeches. 

A short time after the September massacres, 
the Duke de Chartres, son of the Duke of 
Orleans, afterwards Louis Philippe, king of 
France, came up from the army to Paris to com- 
plain of some injustice which he claimed he had 
suffered. Among his friends and in the clubs 
he expressed openly his abhorrence of the events 
of August ioth and the massacres of September. 
Danton had an interview with him and in the 
course of it said : " Well ! young man, I hear 
that you have been murmuring your disapproba- 
tion, that you have even denounced the govern- 
ment for its policy, and that you have expressed 
a sympathy for the victims and a hatred for the 
304 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

executioners. Beware lest your complaints reveal 
a lack of patriotism and your moderation be 
taken for treason." The young prince answered 
that the army looked with horror on the shedding 
of blood, save on the field of battle, and that the 
September massacres appeared in his eyes to dis- 
honor liberty. " You are too young to judge of 
these events," replied Danton. " You cannot 
understand from your point of view what is 
necessary to be done ; in the future be silent. Re- 
turn to the army, fight bravely, but do not need- 
lessly, in a spirit of heroism, risk your life — you 
have many years before you. France does not 
love a republic; she has the habits, the weak- 
nesses, the need of a monarchy. After our 
storms she will return to it either through her 
vices or necessities ; and you will be king. Adieu, 
young man ; remember the prediction of Danton." 
This is truly a remarkable forecast, if the story 
of the interview be true, and it reveals too the 
desire that was ever present in Danton's mind of 
enthroning the family of Orleans in case the 
republic should fall by the way. He looked into 
the future with the eye of a seer and he distinctly 
saw the shadows of coming events. He knew 
that this convulsion, in the nature of a spasm, 
could not last forever, that out of this condition 
would evolve a settled order of things, and that 
France in due season would return to her religion 
and that form of constitution which best suited 
her character and disposition. He was not a 
fanatic, he was a reasonable politician, whose 
vision was not clouded by illusions; he was far 
20 305 



DANTON 

more practical than Robespierre, who was con- 
stantly dreaming of establishing an ideal govern- 
ment of his own creation. 

About this time Dumouriez also came to the 
capital. His return was a triumph. He dined 
at the Rolands' and was welcomed by the 
Girondins with every expression of joy. In the 
evening he went to the opera and was received 
with the warmest demonstrations; he sat in the 
box with Danton, who shared with him the 
applause of the audience. Madame Roland and 
Vergniaud arrived at the theatre later in the 
evening, and were about to enter the loge when 
Madame Roland, perceiving Danton at the side 
of her hero, started back with aversion, and 
clutching the arm of her escort hastily withdrew. 
Her illusions were again dispelled; her hero had 
passed under the sinister influence of her arch- 
enemy, the man above all others whose power she 
dreaded. She it was, in her opinion, that should 
have presented Dumouriez to the public and 
should have shared with him its applause ; but she 
was too late. 



306 



CHAPTER XXIII 

GIRONDINS AND JACOBINS LOUVET's ACCUSATION 

OF ROBESPIERRE 

The National Convention met on the 20th of 
September, 1792. Many of the old leaders were 
returned, and the first act passed by the new legis- 
lative body was one providing for the abolition of 
the monarchy. This was done on motion of 
Collot d' Herbois, and immediately on motion of 
the Abbe Gregoire, the Republic was proclaimed 
and thus dated its existence from the 21st day of 
September, 1792. " There was nothing left now 
for the king," remarked Manuel, " but the right 
of justifying himself before the sovereign people." 

Now that a popular government was established 
it was hoped that dissensions would cease among 
the radicals and that they would unite in a com- 
mon effort to strengthen it and make it a suc- 
cess, but from its very creation the Republic was 
vexed with factional contention. The Revolu- 
tion had accomplished its purpose, the destruction 
of the monarchy, but instead of moderating its 
bitterness it continued with unabated fury. 

At this time the Girondins had a majority over 

the Jacobins in the Convention. Between these 

two factions the struggle now began in earnest, 

and so far as the latter party was concerned it 

307 



DANTON 

was a war to the death. The members of both 
organizations were republicans and it was unfor- 
tunate for the sake of France and for free insti- 
tutions that they did not reconcile their differ- 
ences and labor for one end. But every day 
drove them further apart; the bitterness as time 
ran on grew so intense that it became personal 
as well as political, and the desire or ambition 
for party supremacy rose above every other con- 
sideration and made men partisans rather than 
patriots, often blinding them to the welfare and 
the real interests of the country. During all this 
period Danton argued in favor of -moderation, 
toleration, and unity. He was not possessed by 
a spirit of hate and envy and his personal ambi- 
tions never menaced the integrity of the Republic. 

The Girondins were more aristocratic than the 
Jacobins and held themselves aloof from the 
rabble. They were not as close to the common 
people nor as popular with them as were their 
opponents. They were conservatives, men of 
education and cultivated manners. There were 
no Heberts and Marats in their midst. The 
Revolution in time outstripped them; they kept 
on dreaming and their enemies kept on scheming 
and at last the control of public, of political affairs 
fell into the hands of the Jacobins, the leaders 
of the rabble. The Republic was for all, not for 
a particular class, and in the evolution of events 
the great masses of the people had come to the 
top. 

One thing that made the Girondins weak polit- 
ically was the fact that they did not present a 
308 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

solid front on all questions. The individual 
members were independent in character and not 
always controlled by party discipline. They were 
broken into several groups and, although under 
one flag, they were not always united in policy 
nor in action. They were no match in practical 
politics for the hardy, audacious, unscrupulous 
men who had the mob at their backs. It is a 
question whether or not, even if they had been 
united, the Girondins, who were conservative in 
their methods, could have triumphed and saved 
the Revolution. " How could they have done with 
just laws what the Mountaineers effected by vio- 
lent measures? How could they have conquered 
foreign foes without fanaticism, restrained 
parties without the aid of terror, fed the multi- 
tude without a Maximum, and supplied the armies 
without requisition?" 

Between the Girondins and the Jacobins there 
were some well-defined differences in political 
principles, but the variance was not so great as to 
have precluded a complete reconciliation. The 
truth was that the contest was not over the ques- 
tion of policy or principles, but for political power 
and supremacy, and the Republic in consequence 
became the booty for which the factions fought ; 
the matter of its political control, in the eyes of 
the warring partisans, being of far more impor- 
tance than its welfare. 

As a party the Girondins advocated a distribu- 
tion of political power rather than its centraliza- 
tion. They strongly favored a government based 
upon the forms of the British Constitution. In- 
309 



DANTON 

deed Robespierre declared that " La Gironde had 
long formed a project to separate itself from 
France, to become again La Guyenne, and to 
unite itself to England." An idea so unpatriotic 
found its conception in the imagination of Robes- 
pierre rather than in any thought or purpose of 
the Girondins ; for the latter, no matter what else 
may be said of them, were Frenchmen to the 
core and really had no more intention of attach- 
ing their province to England than to a shooting 
star. But partisan or factional spirit was so blind 
and bitter in those days that mere suspicion 
usurped the place of proof. 

One reason why the Girondins specially fell 
out of favor with the Parisians was because it 
was believed they desired to remove the capital; 
in fact Fabre d' Eglantine declared that he had 
heard Roland suggest either Tours or Blois as 
being suitable for the purpose. Such a rumor 
as this, even if it had but the slightest founda- 
tion upon which to rest, would naturally arouse 
the ire of the Parisians, than whom no people 
were ever so sensitive upon the question of their 
city's importance. 

The Jacobins, as a political party, believed in 
the centralization of power, a strong executive, 
and state control of property and persons. They 
also favored universal education, freedom of the 
press, and religious toleration. They advocated 
the taxing of the rich alone for the maintenance 
of government. Their policies were absolutely 
democratic and their intention was to elevate the 
masses at the expense of the classes. They 
310 






THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

desired the creation of a republic where all men 
were to be equal before the law, a state in which 
all class distinctions, in so far as the enjoyment 
of political rights was concerned, were to be 
obliterated. 

We may say that there was just the differ- 
ence between these two factions, the Girondins 
and the Jacobins, in so far as their political 
policies and principles were concerned, that dis- 
tinguishes an aristocratic from a democratic form 
of government. 

The Girondins had no more bitter enemy 
among all their opponents than Robespierre, with 
the exception perhaps of Marat, whose antipathy 
was boundless, ferocious, and unreasonable. For 
some time the leaders of the Girondins had been 
waiting for an opportunity to attack Robespierre, 
to destroy, if possible, his popularity with the 
masses, and to deal him a political death- 
blow. 

There was nothing in those days that so injured 
a politician in public estimation as a well-founded 
belief or suspicion that he sought to usurp abso- 
lute authority. Accordingly rumors were set 
afloat reflecting on the ambitious designs of 
Robespierre, and, after the public mind was 
excited in relation to these matters, the Girondins 
on the ioth of October, 1792, openly in the Con- 
vention charged him with aspiring to a dictator- 
ship. The chamber was thrown into confusion; 
the friends of Robespierre, taken unawares, were 
greatly disconcerted and as a last resort they 
forced an adjournment. The attack was renewed 
311 



DANTON 

unexpectedly on November 3d, the enemies of 
Robespierre assailing him from all sides. He 
ascended the tribune but in the tumult his voice 
could not be heard. Danton, seeing his discom- 
fiture, came to his assistance and urged him to go 
on, saying that there were many good citizens 
present to listen; but it seemed impossible for 
Robespierre to recover his nerve. At last, in a 
moment when quiet had been partially restored, 
he shrieked out in desperation a defiant challenge ; 
immediately he was assailed in a speech of 
remarkable power by a young deputy named 
Louvet, who demanded his public accusation. 
Robespierre, not having yet recovered his com- 
posure, thought it advisable to secure time in 
which to prepare an answer, and an adjournment 
was taken. 

When the day arrived for him to reply to 
Louvet's fiery philippic he was prepared to meet 
the occasion. He had in the meantime written 
an elaborate speech and had taken the precaution 
to fill the galleries with his supporters. He 
answered seriatim the personal charges. The 
applause was all his that day, and when at the 
conclusion of his speech Louvet attempted to con- 
tinue the debate Barere made a motion to post- 
pone indefinitely further consideration of the 
question and then moved successfully the order 
of the day. The Girondins, strange to say, sup- 
ported the motion. " They committed one fault 
in commencing the accusation and another in not 
continuing it." 

The man from Arras had a close shave, but he 
312 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

managed to effect his escape in good form ; indeed 
he emerged from the conflict in triumph and 
when he appeared at the Jacobins' he was wel- 
comed as a veritable conqueror. 

It was not wise for the Girondins to make this 
attack on Robespierre without following it to 
the very end. They had aroused the resentment 
of a relentless, an implacable, foe and by their 
conduct had created in his heart a burning desire 
for vengeance. In referring to this matter Alli- 
son says : " The Girondins flattered themselves 
that a simple passing to the order of the day 
would extinguish Robespierre's influence as com- 
pletely as exile or death, and they actually joined 
with the Jacobins in preventing the reply of 
Louvet — a fatal error which France had cause to 
lament in tears of blood." 

During the progress of the debate on the 
motion of Barere, Marat ascended the tribune to 
come to the assistance of Robespierre, but just at 
this point Vergniaud asked permission of the 
chair to read a circular which had been sent by 
Marat and some municipal officials to the towns 
and cities throughout France defending the Sep- 
tember massacres and advising them to adopt a 
like method for the extermination of the aristo- 
crats. After the reading of the letter the 
deputies turned with hisses upon Marat, and one 
of them moved his accusation, which motion, 
however, was lost. All this while Marat occu- 
pied the tribune and quietly awaited the result of 
the vote on the motion to accuse; when it was 
announced he drew forth a revj^lver and pointing 
313 



DANTON 

it at his head exclaimed : " Citizens, if the fury 
you displayed on this occasion had carried you 
to the length of an accusation against me, I should 
have blown my brains out." 



314 






CHAPTER XXIV 

VICTORY OF JEMAPPES GIRONDINS PROPOSE 

OPENING OF THE SCHELDT EDMUND BURKE 

ENGLAND JOINS COALITION DANTON VISITS 

BELGIUM DEATH OF DANTON's WIFE 

Dumouriez overthrew the Austrians at Je- 
mappes on November 6, 1792, and on the 
1 6th entered Brussels. The Austrian lines fell 
back to Luxembourg, where they were sup- 
ported by the Prussian army. The victory was 
hailed with delight throughout France, and 
Dumouriez became the hero of the hour. 

The Austrians and the Prussians were thrown 
into consternation. The victory was decisive; it 
was a fairly, a stubbornly contested battle and 
the raw levies of France had repulsed and routed 
the scarred veterans of Germany. For the first 
time the French battalions, while moving into 
battle and charging the enemy, sang the " Mar- 
seillaise," which from this date became the battle 
hymn of the Republic. Its effect upon the spirits 
of the soldiers was electrical and they dashed 
against the lines of the Austrians with a deter- 
mination, a desperation that would brook no 
repulse. The Round-heads and the Puritans of 
Cromwell went into battle chanting their psalms, 
and under the spell of religious fervor became 
315 



DANTON 

invincible. So the armies of France, feeling the 
impulse of a new-born patriotism, marched into 
the conflict singing the " Marseillaise." Thou- 
sands of voices joined in the chorus of that 
inspiring hymn that was already awakening the 
spirit of liberty throughout the world, and its 
strains were heard far above the din and the roar 
of battle. The mercenary troops of Germany had 
not been drilled to combat such enthusiasm. It 
was a new phase of warfare to them, and they 
threw down their arms and fled, panic-stricken, 
in all directions. The soldiers of the Revolution 
were receiving the training that was to enable 
them to secure the glory of the empire. The raw 
recruits of Dumouriez were yet to be the veterans 
in the armies of Napoleon. Valmy and Je- 
mappes were but the skirmishes that were prepar- 
ing them for the greater fields of Austerlitz and 
Jena. The victory aroused unbounded enthusi- 
asm throughout the country and greatly increased 
the enlistments. 

England, at this time, was friendly to France, 
and scouted every idea of joining the coalition. 
The Girondins, however, elated by the victory of 
Dumouriez, became too confident of their power 
and, instead of holding the friendship of England, 
lost it by insisting upon opening the river 
Scheldt and thus making Antwerp a commercial 
rival of London. It was simply a sentiment upon 
the part of France, but was taken by England as 
a breach of international law and the ignoring 
of old treaties to which the French had assented 
for upwards of a century. 
316 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

The foundations of the commercial greatness 
of Antwerp were laid early in the middle ages 
and she became in time one of the great com- 
mercial cities of the world. Her merchants were 
princes and her argosies freighted with merchan- 
dise sailed every sea and touched at every port. 
The renown and reputation of the Flemish trader 
were known the wide world over. At the height 
of this prosperity England, having rendered a 
service to the house of Orange, insisted upon 
closing the river Scheldt. An agreement to this 
end, a solemn pact signed and sealed, was entered 
into, and the glory of Antwerp vanished like a 
dream. Many of her merchants were ruined, 
some even abandoned the city; the great ware- 
houses were closed and her wharves fell into 
decay. Where all had been bustle and anima- 
tion, where the fleets of the world's commerce had 
ridden at anchorage, now all was emptiness and 
desolation. 

The policy of England was selfish, even cruel. 
There was no question but that the Girondins 
were right in so far as sentiment was concerned; 
but it was not the time to play that kind of 
politics. To Frenchmen the interests of France 
were paramount, and until her own peace and 
liberty were secured she ought not to have em- 
broiled herself in quarrels with other states or 
attempted to relieve at her own risk the burdens 
of other peoples. It was unfair and unjust that 
Antwerp should not have the same opportunities 
in commerce that were enjoyed by London, but 
the Girondins were disregarding contracts 
317 



DANTON 

between foreign states, which contracts in no 
wise affected the interests or the commerce of 
France, and in so doing they aroused the anger 
of a great nation whose friendship they might 
have retained and whose enmity they could not 
afford to provoke. Their conduct w T as fatal to 
France in that it brought on a series of wars that 
lasted until Waterloo closed the scene. Nor, when 
all is told, were they actuated by the best and 
most patriotic motives in the world, for, believ- 
ing that Dumouriez was classed in their faction, 
they thought his victories would give them polit- 
ical prestige and enable them to overthrow their 
opponents in Paris and to strengthen themselves 
in popular favor. They advocated that policy 
which would appeal to the people as just and they 
claimed that the opening of the Scheldt was the 
direct result of the victory of Jemappes. 

Danton, anxious at all odds to retain the 
friendship of England, inveighed against what to 
him was an unwise and a short-sighted course to 
pursue, but his protests were of no avail. Robes- 
pierre also labored against this policy of the 
Girondins, but without effect for they had at this 
time the popular side of the question. Danton 
and Robespierre both saw where legislation so 
sentimental would lead the nation. 

Let us now glance at the condition of affairs 
in England. Pitt was still averse to war and it 
required all his influence and his masterly skill 
to control public sentiment and the House of 
Commons. He succeeded, however, until mat- 
ters were made still worse by the step taken by 
318 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

France. On November 30, 1792, the Convention 
by decree directed Dumouriez to invade Holland. 
This precipitated the trouble with England. 
Dumouriez, with the keen vision of the states- 
man, knowing what the withdrawal of England's 
neutrality would mean, sent a secret agent to 
London to confer with Pitt and to assure him 
of his support. But Pitt could no longer stem 
the tide of public opinion and at last had to 
yield. It was Edmund Burke who led the oppo- 
sition. 

The British Tory possessed the qualities of a 
Bourbon of the old regime. He was as intoler- 
ant, as unprogressive, and as conservative in his 
political views. Existing conditions suited him 
and a threatened change or innovation was in 
itself revolutionary. He saw nothing in the 
French Revolution but a rising of the rabble and 
the attempted destruction of time-honored insti- 
tutions. 

Edmund Burke, however, was in no sense of 
the word a Tory ; he was a statesman of the most 
liberal type, characterized by a tolerance that was 
born of a love of humanity itself. His sympa- 
thies were always enlisted in the cause of the 
oppressed. The slave in chains or the insol- 
vent debtor in prison never appealed to him in 
vain. He defended the proscribed Catholic and 
the reviled dissenter. Religion to him was a bene- 
faction, not a superstition. He espoused the 
cause of the American colonies and was ever their 
steadfast friend in the House of Commons; but, 
when the French Revolution broke forth, from 
319 



DANTON 

the very beginning he was so intolerant that he 
saw in it nothing but the supremacy of atheism 
and anarchy. Its purest and bravest leaders were 
in his view but rascals, — miscreants bent on the 
destruction of both Church and State. The Dec- 
laration of Rights he declared was " a sort of 
institute and digest of anarchy." The cry from 
France " fell upon his ears like the fire bell at 
night/' and startled him to such a degree that 
he grew bewildered. 

• " I pardon something to the spirit of liberty," 
he said, in referring at one time to the American 
colonies, but he displayed no such sensibility 
towards France. " It must be confessed," wrote 
Scott in his Life of Napoleon, " that the colors 
he has used in painting the extravagances of the 
Revolution ought to have been softened by con- 
sidering the peculiar state of a country which, 
long laboring under despotism, is suddenly 
restored to the possession of unencumbered 
license." This eminent reformer, this philo- 
sophical statesman, became fanatical in his oppo- 
sition to the French Revolution. " He used argu- 
ments," says Dumont, " so alarming to freedom, 
that on many points he was not only plausibly, 
but victoriously refuted." He foresaw its terrors 
and horrors, and as one by one his predictions 
fell true, men marveled at his prescience. As the 
excesses increased, in the same ratio did his 
reputation as a prophet increase, and his word in 
England became almost oracular. " No political 
prophet," says Sir Walter Scott, " ever viewed 
futurity with a surer ken." 
.320 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

When Danton declared that the National Con- 
vention was the " Committee of Insurrection of 
all Nations," Burke shrieked out his imprecations 
against this buccaneer who would incite riot and 
revolution in every state in Christendom. But 
when the Convention, in December, 1792, decreed 
that, " Wherever French armies shall come, all 
taxes, titles, and privileges of rank shall be 
abolished, all existing authorities shall be 
annulled, and provisional administrators shall be 
elected by universal suffrage," Burke cried out in 
defiance and called upon all nations to accept this 
as a belligerent challenge, and to resent it as an 
insult and a threat to the world's law and order. 

England at last " let slip the dogs of war," and 
all Europe was deluged with blood and became 
for nearly a quarter of a century the battle-field 
of the nations, shaken to its very centre by the 
clash of contending armies. The English gov- 
ernment supplied the sinews of war and added, 
under the administration of William Pitt, 
32,000,000 pounds to her public debt. No one in 
all England was more responsible for this than 
Edmund Burke. " Mr. Pitt," says Hazlitt, " has 
been hailed by his flatterers as ' the pilot that 
weathered the storm,' but it was Burke who at 
this giddy, maddening period stood at the prow 
of the vessel of state and with his glittering, 
pointed speer harpooned the Leviathan of the 
French Revolution." 

The Whigs, led by Fox, Sheridan, and Romilly, 
welcomed the French Revolution as the dawn of 
a day of freedom and as an effort to abolish the 
21 321 



DANTON 

iniquitous system of feudalism and its attendant 
evils. They did everything in their power to 
avoid the war, but they were powerless to stem 
the tide of public opinion. 

Without England the coalition would have 
melted away and France could then have had an 
opportunity to inaugurate a popular government 
that perhaps would have been so well established 
that it would not have fallen subsequently into 
the grasp of a usurper. 

England gave the war a fresh impetus. She 
was a power in herself as mistress of the ocean, 
and her mighty fleets at once ruffled and spread 
their white wings and covered the seas, while her 
treasury, seemingly inexhaustible, poured its 
gold into the laps of the allies. She entered upon 
the war with a fervor that was almost religious 
in its fanaticism. She thought the so-called 
" Principles of the Revolution " endangered social 
and civil order and even the existence of the 
Christian religion, and, judging from what had 
occurred in France, it was not strange that she 
so believed. Even when Napoleon came upon 
the scene he was looked upon as the embodiment 
of the French Revolution or, as Pitt called him, 
" the child and champion of democracy," and the 
contest was continued for a generation. 

When the ardor of the allies cooled, the British 
minister aroused it by increasing the subsidies, 
and through his agents bribed, cajoled, and per- 
suaded them to keep alive the coalition. England 
poured out her treasures and Europe her blood, 
and all for the purpose of compelling France to 
322 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

restore the monarchy, a form of government of 
which her people had grown tired and which 
because of its extravagance, corruption, and 
tyranny they had every right and reason to 
destroy. 

After the victory of Jemappes, Danton and 
several other members of the Assembly, who with 
him had been appointed commissioners, were sent 
into Belgium to examine the condition of the 
army, to reorganize the Austrian Netherlands, 
and to report to the Convention whether Belgium 
wished to be united to France or to be formed into 
a separate republic. 

On this visit Danton had an opportunity to 
fathom the designs of Dumouriez, and he was 
soon convinced that although he was an am- 
bitious, a self-seeking man, he was a great gen- 
eral as well as statesman, and absolutely, at this 
contingency, necessary to France. He found, 
too, that he was a keen politician and that he had 
his eye on political preferment in Paris. He had 
won the affection and the admiration of his troops 
and he was just the man to march on the capital 
and proclaim himself dictator. " He menaces 
Paris," said Robespierre, " more than he does 
Belgium and Holland." 

Already the radical journals were beginning to 
intimate the treason of the rugged little soldier 
and to apply to him the title of Caesar. Their 
policy was that of suspicion. They continually 
dangled before the people's eyes the dread of 
Cassarism and Cromwellism. They maintained 
a close watch on their generals and by suspecting 
323 



DANTON 

them of treason kept them constantly asseverat- 
ing and proving their loyalty. The great fear of 
the Revolution was a military dictatorship, and 
in those days of acute suspicion a commander in 
the army if unsuccessful was looked upon as a 
traitor, and if successful he was feared as am- 
bitious. Dumouriez was so wrought up by the 
attacks made upon him, and angered too, perhaps, 
because his designs were discovered and his plans 
frustrated that he declared that the inefficiency of 
the home government was a reason for its over- 
throw. 

Danton saw clearly the evil results that would 
follow the identification of Dumouriez with any 
faction in the Convention and he made up his 
mind to thwart any dangerous political ambitions 
and to counteract any personal schemes. He 
made several visits to Belgium during these nego- 
tiations, always urging the annexation of that 
state to France. It was while on one of these 
visits that he had a domestic affliction that seemed 
to change the whole tenor of his life. When in 
the midst of his important labors he suddenly 
received news of the death of his wife. 

Camille's journal contains the following in 
reference to her demise which really more than 
intimates that she died of a broken heart, because 
of the attacks made by enemies upon her hus- 
band while away from the capital. " Danton is 
down in Belgium, and the cowards have profited 
by that absence. They have represented him as 
pointing out during, the days of the second and 
the third of September the victims that should 
324 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

be assassinated. His wife has received her mor- 
tal stroke from reading in the papers this atro- 
cious invention. Those who know how much 
this woman loved Danton can form an idea of 
her sufferings. Danton was absent but his 
enemies were present in the miserable sheets that 
tore her heart." As there is no allusion made 
elsewhere to indicate that the death of Madame 
Danton resulted from shock due to attacks upon 
her husband's character, the statement may per- 
haps have found its origin only in the emotions 
of Camille. 

Immediately upon receiving word of his wife's 
death, Danton dropped all the matters he had in 
hand, took a light carriage, and hastened to Paris. 
Upon his arrival, the coffin, at his request, was 
taken up that he might look once more upon the 
face of the woman he devotedly loved, for he had 
ever been to her a true and faithful husband. He 
embraced the body, kissed the lips, and sobbed 
aloud in his anguish. It was the sorrow of a 
strong man of deep emotions. He could not 
abide within his home; the memories and the 
associations were too sad. The house was empty 
and cheerless; it had been vacant for a week and 
seals were upon the furniture. His children, both 
young, had been taken to the home of their grand- 
mother, and he felt that he was entirely alone. 

In order to forget his sorrow and gloom he 
plunged at once into active life, and summoned 
all his energy to sustain him. His labors were 
herculean, and he never displayed greater talent 
in the dispatch of business. What he accom- 
plished we shall learn later. 
3^5 



CHAPTER XXV 

FINDING OF THE IRON CHEST LOUIS SUMMONED 

TO THE BAR 

The Revolution had a dethroned king on its 
hands. The monarchy had been destroyed, the 
Republic had been established and proclaimed, 
but so long as Louis was a prisoner in what had 
formerly been his own kingdom he would sim- 
ply be a menace to the Revolution. His impris- 
onment and detention would arouse the enmity 
and resentment of every royal potentate in Eu- 
rope against the Republic. 

The question at once occurred as to what dis- 
position should be made of him. To detain him 
as a prisoner separated from his family was to 
induce the sympathy of the whole world. Be- 
sides this could not be continued indefinitely; 
it was cruel and unreasonable. To furnish and 
maintain a separate establishment for a crown- 
less king and his family in semi-confinement 
could not be considered; such a place would be- 
come but a nest for conspiracy. To set him at 
liberty would lead to infinite trouble. To banish 
him would give him the opportunity he had 
sought when he attempted to desert his king- 
dom, that of reclaiming his throne at the head 
of an invading army of traitorous nobles and 
foreign allies. 

326 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Robespierre hit the nail on the head when he 
declared the execution of the king was a political 
necessity; the questions as to whether or not this 
was strict justice, and whether or not he was 
guilty under specific charges, were not to be con- 
sidered. It was urged that the safety and wel- 
fare of the country alone should be weighed. 
And this was the opinion not only of radical, 
blood-thirsty revolutionists, but of " many great 
and good men, who mournfully inclined to the 
severer side from an opinion of its absolute ne- 
cessity to annihilate a dangerous enemy and es- 
tablish an unsettled republic." 

Carnot, one of the most conservative among 
the revolutionists, a man of distinction and of 
superior abilities, but a most ardent and conscien- 
tious supporter of the Republic, voted for the 
death of the king; but when he did so he openly 
declared that never did word weigh so heavily 
on his heart. 

During this period of agitation in November, 
1792, Gamain, the locksmith who had taught 
Louis the secrets of his trade, went to Roland 
and revealed to him the location of a safe which 
he had helped Louis to build in a wall of the 
palace of the Tuileries. The safe was found ; 
Roland took it to his office, examined the con- 
tents, and the secret was out that Louis had been 
playing double and that he had been correspond- 
ing with the enemies of the Republic. It was 
also discovered that some prominent men, who 
in the past had been popular favorites, had been 
in negotiation with the court to aid in the resto- 
327 



DANTON 

ration of the monarchy. Mirabeau's bust was 
veiled. 

It was immediately after alleged by the Jac- 
obins that Roland had destroyed some papers 
that he found which reflected upon the patriotism 
of several members of his own party. The Jac- 
obins rang the changes upon this for all it was 
worth and the people were in the frame of mind 
to accept as truth all such rumors. In corrobo- 
ration of this charge Boze, a royalist, informed 
the Jacobins of a letter that had been written 
by Vergniaud, Guadet, and Gensonne to Louis 
just prior to the ioth of August pledging them- 
selves to do all in their power to maintain the 
monarchy. This was grist to the mill and the 
Jacobins chuckled over the discomfiture of their 
political foes, for it not only divided the ranks 
of the Girondins, but furnished their adversaries 
with a conclusive argument against their loyalty 
as a party and rendered them most unpopular. 

On December 6th a committee of twenty-one 
was appointed by the Assembly to prepare 
charges against Louis and on the ioth its re- 
port was submitted to the Convention. On the 
nth Louis was summoned to appear at the bar 
of the Assembly. Barere was in the chair. " Cit- 
izens," he said, " the eyes of Europe are upon 
you. Posterity will judge you with inflexible 
severity. Preserve then the dignity and the dis- 
passionate coolness befitting judges. Recollect 
the awful silence which accompanied Louis when 
brought back from Varennes." 

When Louis arrived, the president directed 
328 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

him to be seated and to answer the questions 
that would be propounded to him. In referring 
to the conduct of Barere at this time, Madame 
de Stael wrote : " When the presiding officer 
of the Convention says to his king, ' Louis, as- 
scyez vous/ we feel more indignation even than 
when he is accused of crimes which he never 
committed. One must have sprung from the 
very dust not to respect past obligations, particu- 
larly when misfortune has rendered them sacred ; 
and vulgarity joined to crime inspires us with 
as much contempt as horror." 

Louis was charged with all the faults of the 
court: with having entertained the life-guards 
who insulted the national cockade and trampled 
it under foot; with having refused to sanction 
the Declaration of Rights and several other con- 
stitutional articles; with having made speeches 
of reconciliation and promises, which promises 
were not sincere ; with having entered into secret 
negotiations with Mirabeau to effect a counter- 
revolution ; with having furnished money to bribe 
delegates ; with having assembled the " Knights 
of the Dagger"; with having corresponded with 
the emigres; with having negotiated with the 
allies; with having attempted to flee the king- 
dom ; with being responsible for the " Fusillade 
of the Champ de Mars" on the 17th of June, 
1 79 1 ; with having continued the pay to the em- 
igrant life-guards; with having assembled an in- 
sufficient force of troops on the frontiers; with 
having refused to sanction the decree providing 
for a camp of 20,000 men near Paris ; with hav- 
329 



DANTON 

ing disarmed the fortresses; with having re- 
viewed the Swiss and the troops composing the 
garrison of the palace on the morning of the ioth 
of August; and with having caused the shedding 
of blood in consequence of these military disposi- 
tions. The bill contained many other charges 
more or less insubstantial. To these and all 
of the above charges Louis made answer. He 
showed much impatience when held responsible 
for the shedding of blood on the ioth of August 
and emphatically asseverated his innocence. He 
denied the existence of the iron chest and his 
denial produced a most unfavorable impression, 
for it was an admitted fact that it had been found 
and its contents examined. He asked permission 
to select counsel to represent him at the trial. 
This right was accorded him and at once he re- 
quested the services of Target, one of the most 
distinguished members of the French bar, chief 
author of the Constitution of 1791, and president 
of one of the Paris tribunals. Target declined 
the honor, evidently controlled in his conduct by 
fear; he gave as his reasons, however, old age 
and infirmity. His seeming cowardice subjected 
him to insult and derision, and history will ever 
record him as a lawyer faithless to his oath. 
Cambeceres declared that " his example endan- 
gered public morality. " Target attempted to re- 
pair the disgrace by afterwards publishing a full 
defense of the king, but it was too late to recover 
his former standing. 

After the refusal of Target, Louis selected 
the venerable and illustrious Malesherbes, who 
330 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

was assisted by Tronchet and De Seze. Male- 
sherbes, when his name was mentioned in this 
connection, wrote to the president of the Con- 
vention : " I have been twice called to be counsel 
for him, who was my master, in times when that 
duty was coveted by everyone: I owe him the 
same service now that it is a duty which many 
people deem dangerous." When Louis met his 
lawyer he embraced him tenderly, and with tears 
in his eyes, said : " Your sacrifice is the more 
generous since you endanger your own life with- 
out saving mine." 

Malesherbes was afterwards pursued relent- 
lessly by his enemies and his grand old spirit 
suffered all sorts of indignities, but at last he 
bravely met his doom and went to the scaffold 
in 1794. His family was almost extirpated by 
their merciless persecutors in those days when 
the Revolution was but " the madness that dwells 
in the hearts of men." 

Ten days were allowed the king and his coun- 
sel to prepare the defense. In the meantime the 
public mind was inflamed by the radical journals 
demanding the death of Louis. The details of 
the campaign were well organized. Prior to the 
trial and during its continuance, blatant orators 
and loud-mouthed demagogues sent out by the 
clubs as apostles of murder harangued the peo- 
ple in the public gardens, and at the street corners 
upon improvised and portable rostrums. They 
demanded the execution of Louis to satisfy the 
vengeance of the people and as an example to 
kings. Under the influence of this fiery crusade 
33i 



DANTON 

the passions of the multitude were wrought up 
to the highest state and the opposition to Louis 
became most bitter. Patriotism at this period 
was measured by the degree of earnestness dis- 
played in a desire for the king's death, luke- 
warmness or moderation was taken as a proof 
of treason. 

As the day of trial approached, bands of ruf- 
fians paraded everywhere, brandishing their 
weapons and singing revolutionary songs. For 
expressing views of clemency men were cut down 
in cold blood upon the public streets. The crowd 
went to the Church of Vol de Grace, and taking 
the urns that enclosed the hearts of several kings 
and queens of France, dashed them to pieces 
upon the marble pavements. The public gardens 
and the Palais Royal rang with applause when- 
ever an impassioned orator declared that the 
safety of the Republic depended upon the death 
of the king. 

In the view of a celebrated French historian: 
" Neither Robespierre, Danton, Marat, nor the 
Girondins thirsted for the blood of Louis XVI 
or believed in the political utility of his sentence. 
Had they been isolated each of these parties and 
these men would have saved the king; but face 
to face, and each struggling to display the most 
patriotism to the Republic, these parties and 
men accepted the challenge mutually given. It 
was no faction, no opinion that immolated the 
king. It was the antagonism of all these opin- 
ions and factions." In other words, fearing that 
an opposite faction might gain an ascendancy 
332 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

in popular favor, they juggled with the head 
of a king for their own party's advancement. It 
was better, each thought, that Louis should per- 
ish than that political prestige and power should 
be lost or imperiled, and thus the desire for party 
safety and supremacy induced to the commission 
of a crime. 

Danton at first had decided to take no part in 
the prosecution, but public sentiment was so 
strong and the people so wrought up by the ene- 
mies of royalty that he was swept along with the 
tide. 

Madame Roland urged the Girondins to save 
the life of Louis; she declared that his death 
would be political murder and that it would be 
suicidal for the Girondins to vote for it. " De- 
fend him," she exclaimed, " in a brave and manly 
way, openly and in the sight of the people." It 
was easy to give this advice in her parlors, but 
on the streets such a declaration would perhaps 
have been followed by death or mutilation. 

The Jacobins favored the execution of the king 
because it would secure for them the support of 
the masses, and further because it would destroy 
the popularity of the Girondins in case the latter 
declined to vote for a death sentence, for it was 
well known that there were dissensions in their 
ranks in relation to this matter. The Girondins, 
as usual, were broken into factions, whereas their 
enemies, the Jacobins, far better organized polit- 
ically, were united and presented a solid front; 
therein lay the power and greater influence of the 
latter party. 

333 



CHAPTER XXVI 

TRIAL OF LOUIS XVI 

The trial of Louis began on December 26, 
1792. It was a farce, as were nearly all the 
State trials at that period. A member of the 
Convention, a lawyer, observed : " I expected 
to find here an Assembly of judges and I find an 
Assembly of accusers." The three questions sub- 
mitted to the vote of the delegates were : First, 
" Is Louis guilty of conspiracy against the na- 
tion ? " Second, " Shall the judgment be sub- 
ject to the sanction of the people?" and third, 
" What shall be the penalty? " 

The voting began on the 15th of January, 
I 793- Out of 739 members, 683 voted guilty on 
the first question, none for acquittal. On the 
same day a vote was taken on the second ques- 
tion. There were 717 members present; 424 
voted against the appeal, and 283 in its favor; 
10 refused to vote. 

On the 1 6th day of the month the voting on the 
final and all important question began. It lasted 
from Wednesday to Sunday morning, the con- 
tinuous sitting- being about seventy-two hours. 
It was a slow and tedious process because each 
member took time to explain his position or to 
give reasons for his vote. 
334 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

During this time it might be supposed that 
an appearance of solemnity and restraint would 
have been present; instead of which everything 
bore an air of gayety, even lively dissipation. 
The lobby was crowded with ruffians drinking 
wine as in a tavern. Men and women in the gal- 
leries chatted and laughed as if they were at an 
entertainment. Waiters went here, there, and 
everywhere with ices, oranges, and sweetmeats 
which they served on order. Boxes had been 
arranged in the rear of the hall, and set apart 
for the lady friends of the delegates, many of 
whom wore costumes more appropriate for a ball 
than a court-room. Special quarters with re- 
served seats were provided for the mistresses of 
the duke of Orleans; these ladies, while indulg- 
ing in ices and dainty wines, entertained and held 
animated conversation with visiting delegates. 
Bets were made on the result as at a horse race, 
and women kept tally of the votes by pricking 
cards with pins. Men in everyday working at- 
tire sat on the steps of the amphitheatre and 
noisily expressed their opinions. Occasionally 
a shout of disapproval, mingled with threats, 
would go up when a delegate disappointed and 
displeased the audience by a vote for acquittal 
and an appeal for clemency. The Jacobin menads 
from the slums, drunk and disorderly, would 
bandy words with such delegates or quarrel 
among themselves. 

Crowds were gathered at the doors of the Con- 
vention to threaten and intimidate the wavering 
deputies. " His death or thine," was the cry of 
335 



DANTON 

the mob, and these words rang in the ears of the 
delegates every hour of the session. No such 
scheme of intimidation was ever so successfully 
worked to effect a judicial result. The inflexible 
radical members were applauded; the timid were 
brow-beaten and denounced. The Marquis de 
Villette, advanced in years, but withal a bold, an 
intrepid man, was seized as he was about entering 
the hall and twenty poniards were pointed at his 
heart while he was asked to make oath that he 
would vote for the death of the king. Releas- 
ing himself from the grasp of his assailants, he 
exclaimed : " No, I will not vote for his death 
and you will not kill me." They drew back, 
awed by such courage, and he passed unharmed 
to his seat. 

During the night sessions, the hall was dimly 
lighted, deputies lounged in their seats, or 
sprawled out at full length on the benches, some 
of them sound asleep but having made arrange- 
ments to be aroused in time to vote. Out of this 
gloom and confusion came in monotonous suc- 
cession and in sepulchral tones the simple words, 
" death," " exile," as the various members gave 
their votes. When Vergniaud's name was called, 
the first to be reached among the Girondins, a 
hush fell upon the assemblage. He slowly 
mounted the tribune, stood facing the audience, 
his head bent as if collecting his thoughts, and 
then, as if dreading to hear the word he had 
promised not to utter, he voted " death." It was 
only the night before, while supping with a lady 
who begged him to be merciful to the captive, 
32$ 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

that he had sworn by his life to save the king. 
" I vote for death ! " he had exclaimed with in- 
dignation in answer to a question by De Seze; 
" it is an insult to me to suppose me capable of 
an act so disgraceful." Yet the next day he did 
that very thing. As his vote was given Robes- 
pierre smiled with contempt ; Marat muttered the 
word " imbecile " ; Hebert and Billaud-Varennes 
laughed outright; Danton sneered, and, turning 
to Brissot, said in a whisper : " These are your 
orators; sublime language and base conduct! 
What is to be done with such men? Don't 
talk of them to me. Your party is destroyed." 
" I do not like Vergniaud," said Madame Ro- 
land, " his speeches are strong in logic, burning 
with passion, sparkling with beauties, sustained 
by a noble elocution; what a pity genius like his 
is not animated by love of the Commonwealth 
and by tenacity of purpose ! " In sealing the 
doom of Louis, he sealed as well that of his 
own party, and dragged his friends down to 
destruction. 

The deputies from Paris, among them Dan- 
ton, Marat, Billaud-Varennes and Collot d'Her- 
bois voted death, as did Sieves and Buzot the 
lover of Madame Roland. A deputy named 
Duchatel was brought into the Convention on a 
cot; close to his own end he sympathized with 
the king and voted against death. The galleries 
jeered and mocked him. The last deputy called 
was the duke of Orleans, Egalite. He walked 
from his seat to the tribune with a steady step, 
but his face was as pale as death. All noise and 
22 337 



DANTON 

clamor ceased; the Assembly watched with 
breathless interest, for there had been many con- 
flicting rumors as to his intention. A shudder 
ran through the house when he, a prince of the 
royal line, voted for his cousin's death. Even 
the Mountain looked with contempt upon the 
creature who, to win the favor of the rabble, 
abandoned every sentiment, every principle of 
humanity. Even among the most brutal, nature 
revolted against an act so inhuman and men 
stood aghast at so cruel a deed. In explanation 
of his motive he muttered something about the 
spirit of a Brutus. Alas ! how many assassins 
have covered themselves with the mantle of this 
old Roman. But Brutuses are not often needed; 
usually they are born Pharisees and their deeds 
are made to fit their ambitions. 

When Louis heard of the duke's conduct he 
exclaimed : " It hurts me more than all else." 
He should not have been surprised, however; he 
knew the character of the man and he had pro- 
voked his enduring hatred when, to show his 
utter contempt, he appointed him colonel of dra- 
goons at a time when the duke was a candidate 
for admiral of the navy. 

While the voting was in progress, the arrival 
of an intercession from the king of Spain was 
announced. The Assembly was thrown into a 
state of the wildest excitement. Delegates mar- 
veled that any foreign king would have the im- 
pertinence to dictate at such a time what should 
be the action of the Convention or the policy of 
France. Danton in his eagerness to be heard, 
338 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

without even asking permission of the chair, 
fairly leaped into the tribune and, with a voice 
of thunder, in his most impassioned manner ex- 
claimed : " I am astonished at the insolence of 
a power which does not fear to assume an influ- 
ence over our deliberations. If everybody were 
of my opinion, the Assembly would instantly de- 
clare war against Spain on that ground alone. 
What! they will not recognize the Republic and 
yet desire to dictate laws to us ! Yet hear this 
ambassador if you wish to do so. But let the 
president make a reply worthy of the people 
whose mouth-piece he is. Let him tell the vain 
and impudent Castilian that the conquerors of 
Jemappes will not belie the glory they have ac- 
quired and will again exert their strength in 
order to exterminate all kings who have con- 
spired against us ! No dealings with tyranny ! 
The people will pass sentence on their repre- 
sentatives if their representatives attempt to de- 
ceive them! " 

There were many influences at this time, both 
inside and outside of France, working in behalf 
of the king. It is said that the exiled Theodore 
Lameth came to Paris in disguise a few days 
before the trial and sought at once the house of 
Danton. He found the great tribune in his bath 
and explained the reason for his unexpected and 
perilous visit. " To save the king I am quite 
willing," said Danton, " but I must have a million 
to buy certain votes and I must have it in eight 
days. I warn you, however, that I myself will 
vote for death; I am quite willing to save the 
339 



DANTON 

king's life, but not willing to lose my own." 
Lameth failed, so the story goes, to send the 
money, and the plan fell through. 

At the time of the taking of the final vote on 
the king's sentence, the Convention comprised 
721 delegates; 334 voted for exile or imprison- 
ment, 387 voted for death. Of the latter many 
favored delay. There was a majority of 53 
votes for death; 43 of which were for death on 
condition of suspension of execution, so that 
there was a majority of only 10 votes for death 
without condition or restriction. Manuel tried 
to falsify the count and so exasperated the radi- 
cal delegates that he nearly lost his life. 

It was the Girondins who murdered the king; 
for while they really wished to save him and 
could probably have done so had they stood firm, 
they feared the imputation of royalism and so 
voted for his death. The Jacobins absolutely 
favored death, and under the popular tumult had 
made their political enemies their accomplices, it 
may be said their tools. The Jacobins voted death 
for, as they thought, the security of the Repub- 
lic; the Girondins for the safety of their party; 
which was the nobler of the two motives? It 
will be a very difficult task for the most ardent 
admirer of the men from the Gironde to defend 
them against the charge of trimming. They 
favored the appeal to the people, an act of clem- 
ency in itself, for it gave Louis a chance for his 
life ; but, when it came to the final and all-impor- 
tant question, they voted outright for his death. 
340 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Such conduct, if it is not classified as cowardly, 
is at least inconsistent. 

On the evening of the final vote a life guards- 
man named Paris, wrapped in a great cloak, 
strolled into the Palais Royal determined to 
avenge the death of the king. Lepelletier St. 
Fargeau, a royalist who had enthusiastically 
espoused the popular cause, was sitting at a table 
in the restaurant of one named Fevrier. He had 
been marked for vengeance by the royalists be- 
cause of his apostacy and for having argued and 
voted for the king's death. Paris stepped up to 
him and asked : " Are you the villain who voted 
for the death of the king?" "Yes," he an- 
swered, " I so voted ; but I am not a villain. I 
voted according to my conscience." " If that be 
so," said the life guardsman, " take that for your 
reward," and he plunged his sword into his side. 
Lepelletier expired almost immediately, his last 
words being " I am cold." This assassination 
gave rise to all sorts of rumors as to the con- 
spiracies and uprising of the royalists. 

It was decided immediately after the final vote 
was recorded that the execution of Louis should 
take place within twenty-four hours. Malesher- 
bes pleaded, with tears streaming down his 
cheeks, for delay, but the Convention would listen 
to no appeal. It was contended that if the 
Republic required the sacrifice there was no 
reason for respite or clemency. The execution 
was appointed to take place on Monday, January 

2 1 St. 

34i 



DANTON 

The Mountain rejoiced over the result, but it 
is certain that the great body of the better class 
people were shocked. " Paris," says Thiers, 
" was in a profound stupor ; the audacity of the 
new government had produced the ordinary effect 
of force on the masses; it had paralysed and 
reduced to silence the greater number and had 
excited to outspoken indignation only those who 
were of most resolute spirit. The blow was so 
sudden that peaceful citizens and royal sympa- 
thizers with the king were stunned ; there was no 
intermission in the work from the beginning to 
the end of the prosecution so that amidst the 
public clamor there was no opportunity for 
remonstrance." 



342 



CHAPTER XXVII 

EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI 

On Sunday the king was officially notified of 
the action of the Convention. He asked for a 
respite of three days, but his request was refused 
and there was nothing left for him to do but to 
prepare for death. He selected the Abbe 
Edgeworth as his confessor. 

Henry Essex Edgeworth de Finuont was born 
in Ireland in 1745. His father was a clergyman 
in the Church of England, who embraced the 
Roman Catholic faith and went with his family 
to France. The abbe was a man of the purest 
and simplest piety. After the execution of Louis, 
he escaped from France; William Pitt offered 
him a pension which he refused. In his last 
hours the Duchess d'Angouleme watched over 
him; the royal family followed him to his grave; 
and Louis XVIII wrote his epitaph. 

Louis was given permission to see his family 
without the presence of strangers. There was 
but one meeting; it was too sad to be described 
in detail, but the interview was most affecting and 
the demeanor of Louis throughout was heroic. 

After he tore himself from the arms of his 
wife, his children, and his sister, he straightway 
sought his confessor, to whom he said : " We 

343 



DANTON 

are done with time, let us now occupy ourselves 
with eternity. " At midnight he retired, giving 
instructions to his valet, Clery, to call him at five 
o'clock. Worn out with the excitement and 
anxiety of the day, he slept soundly. 

Clery, following closely the instructions of his 
master, aroused him at the appointed hour. 
"Has it struck five?" asked the king. "Not 
yet," answered Clery, " by the clock of the tower, 
but several of the clocks of the city have already 
struck." Louis carefully made his toilet; he 
wore a purple coat, a white waistcoat and gray 
silk knee breeches. The priest performed mass 
and Louis took communion. Then turning to 
Clery he said : " After my death you will give 
this seal to my son, this ring to the queen; this 
small parcel contains locks of hair of all my 
family, this you will also give to her. Tell the 
queen, my sister and my children that I promised 
to see them again this morning, but the parting 
would be too bitter and might unnerve me for the 
ordeal through which I have to pass and further 
I desire to save them from the agony of another 
separation. Tell them too that they know not 
how much it has cost me to depart without receiv- 
ing their last embraces." 

It was a cold, bleak morning, cloudy and 
sleety, and the dawn came on slowly. Clery had 
made a fire in the stove and the king, immersed 
in deep thought, sat close to it warming his hands. 
In the streets below were heard the trampling of 
armed men, the galloping of horses, and the 
rumbling of artillery. The king, suddenly 
344 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

aroused from his revery, remarked: " Here 
they come." On the staircase were heard ap- 
proaching the Committee of Municipals, with 
Santerre at their head, and the gens d'armes ap- 
pointed to escort the king to the scaffold. When 
the door was opened Louis said : " You are 
come for me. I will be with you in an instant ; 
await me there," pointing to the threshold of 
the chamber. He then retired and once more 
knelt at the altar with the priest. Finishing his 
devotions he stepped forward and addressing 
Jacques Roux, one of the committee, said: 
" This is my will ; may I ask you to give it to the 
president of the Council Generale of the Com- 
mune." " We did not come here to do your 
errands but to escort you to the scaffold," was 
the brutal reply. " Very true, very true," said 
Louis, and looking for a kindlier face he turned 
to Baudrais, who without hesitation accepted the 
trust. 

Roux had been a priest before the Revolution, 
but throwing his frock aside he plunged into 
politics and became one of the most rabid and 
rampant of the radicals. Fearing his loyalty to 
the Revolution might be suspected, because of 
his former calling, he thought it necessary in 
order to remove all suspicion to become specially 
furious. He simply evinced the temper of the 
apostate and his contemptible spirit was shown in 
his treatment of Louis at this time, when he 
insolently refused the last request of a man about 
to die. 

" Let us go," said Louis. As he passed down 
345 



DANTON 

the staircase he spoke to one of the jailers, whom 
a few days before he had rather sharply repri- 
manded for some misconduct. " Forgive me, 
Mathey," he said, " I spoke too harshly the other 
day ; " but the jailer, not generous enough to ac- 
cept the courteous apology of a man going to his 
death, turned away and made no reply. The sys- 
tem of compelling fear and terror had made men 
cravens, wretched cowards. Seeing that San- 
terre kept his hat on, Louis remarked : " I 
remember the last time you accompanied me, you 
had lost your hat and were involuntarily bare- 
headed. I see, to-day, that you intend to have 
no recurrence of such an accident and so you 
keep it securely on your head." 

The king entered the carriage awaiting him, 
accompanied by his confessor and two gens 
d' amies. It took two hours to go from the 
Temple to the place of execution. The beating 
of drums prevented the king's conversing with 
the abbe and so he spent his time in reading his 
prayer book, paying but little attention to the 
crowds upon the streets. The carriage was 
halted but once and that was when a quartette of 
enthusiastic royalists flashed their swords and 
called upon the people to rescue the king. Their 
effort was futile, and receiving no support they 
ran for their lives. Two were overtaken and 
killed ; the other two, Baron de Batz and his sec- 
retary, Davaux, effected their escape. Along 
the entire route all windows were closed and there 
were no signs of gayety. Great crowds were 
gathered on the sidewalks, but a universal silence 
346 






THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

prevailed, only occasionally broken by the cry of 
" Long live the nation." 

Around the guillotine a large space was kept 
vacant. One hundred thousand men under arms 
were drawn up to the limits of this space. Can- 
non were in position and cannoneers stood close 
at hand with lighted matches. The guillotine 
loomed up in the centre of the square and seemed 
to be a thing instinct with life, waiting to taste the 
blood of a king. Samson, who was but a part 
of the machine, stood ready for his task. 

To this public executioner, the horrible work 
now allotted him was but a portion of the day's 
routine. The heads of the mighty had rolled at 
his feet. Patrician and plebeian, prince and prel- 
ate; all heads to him were the same. He 
chopped them off with an utter indifference; he 
asked no questions; he literally dabbled in bood; 
his trade was death. Yet this gory headsman 
was not a ghoul, but a man with human affections 
and desires. When the day's work was over he 
would go home and at supper, surrounded by his 
family, would recite, no doubt, time and again 
the thrilling events of the day. For recreation 
he often went to the theatre and, it is said, 
laughed heartily, for no one had a keener zest 
for a joke. He enjoyed good health, ate and 
slept well, and apparently was easy in his con- 
science. He sent into eternity a host of men and 
women without evincing the slightest tremor or 
sensibility. He was a dweller on the banks of 
the river Styx, the companion and assistant of 
the grim old ferryman, with hundreds of the 
347 



DANTON 

wandering spirits as his victims. No one man 
in all history ever kept old Charon busier. In 
his quiet moments in later life, if such a man 
ever did reflect, the past must have been a hideous 
nightmare. 

The day of the king's execution was out of the 
ordinary, however, and while awaiting his arrival 
Samson, standing on the platform — the stage 
upon which was to be enacted one of the greatest 
tragedies of history — was in the view of tens of 
thousands of people, the principal figure in the 
scene. He appreciated the distinction that his 
position gave him. Everything was spick and 
span, the platform had been swept and washed, 
the knife scraped and cleaned, and the executioner 
had put on fresh linen and dressed himself with 
some care in honor of the event. 

At about ten o'clock the carriage reached the 
scaffold. Louis alighted, and three assistants to 
the executioner came forward to aid in removing 
his coat. He waved them aside, however, and 
made his own preparations, unfastening his neck- 
cloth, opening his shirt, and turning back the 
collar. The assistants then began to bind his 
arms, but at this he displayed some indignation 
and was about to resist when his confessor 
reminded him of the indignities that had been 
heaped upon his Lord. At this Louis submitted 
and then, leaning on M. Edgeworth, ascended 
the steps of the scaffold, which were covered with 
sleet. When he reached the platform he came 
forward to address the people. " Frenchmen," 
he said, " I die innocent of the crimes imputed 
348 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

to me. I forgive the authors of my death and I 
pray that my blood may not fall upon France." 
He was about to proceed when the drums were 
ordered to beat and the noise drowned his words. 
M. Edgeworth, extending his hands in a final 
blessing, said : " Son of St. Louis, ascend to 
heaven." The king was violently seized, placed 
upon the plank, and his head at one blow was 
severed from his body. This was twenty min- 
utes past ten by the clock. One of the execu- 
tioners held the head aloft and the people shouted : 
" Long live the nation." 

The body was immediately removed to the 
cemetery of the Madeleine. It was not placed in 
a coffin, but was thrown into a deep ditch and 
covered with great quantities of quicklime, the 
head being placed between the legs. 

The spot where Louis was sacrificed in expia- 
tion of the crimes of his ancestors is marked 
to-day with a red-granite obelisk brought from 
Egypt by the French government in 183 1. This 
monument, whose sides are chiseled with the 
hieroglyphics of an ancient and a long since 
departed people, has witnessed the rise and fall 
of dynasties, the development and decadence of 
past civilizations; yet perhaps never did it see a 
people so athirst for blood as were the French 
for the blood of their king. 

After the execution, when the barriers were 
removed, the crowds that had been confined 
within limits soon swept over every inch of vacant 
space, like an incoming surf. Men and women 
fought with desperation over the king's hat and 
349 



DANTON 

coat until these articles were torn to shreds. 
Many dipped their pikes and handkerchiefs in 
the blood and one creature, taking some upon his 
finger, actually tasted it and declared to a jeer- 
ing crowd that it was atrociously bitter. One 
heartless wretch showered a handful of clots over 
the heads of the people. 

Almost immediately after the execution, shops 
were opened and business was at once resumed, 
newsboys cried the latest editions, and street 
venders sold their usual wares. The cafes and 
gardens were crowded, and the taverns were 
filled with drinkers toasting the health of the 
nation and riotously singing a song whose wild 
refrain was, " With the guts of the last of the 
priests, we will strangle the last of the kings." 

In the evening the theatres were thronged and 
Paris seemed to be even gayer than usual. The 
clubs were noisy with the declamations of the 
orators, and above them all could be heard Dan- 
ton's voice ringing out in clear and emphatic defi- 
ance, challenging the enemies of France. Long 
before midnight it was time for all honest people 
to be within doors, for the night was made 
hideous with the howling imprecations of drunken 
men and women, who reeled like bacchanals 
through the streets till morning dawned. " O ! 
the monsters/' cried the queen when she heard 
their shrieks under her windows; "they rejoice 
over the death of their king!" The following 
article, which appeared in the " Gazette de 
France," a Parisian journal, doubtless fairly 
reflected the prevailing sentiment with regard to 
35o 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

the execution : " The tyrant is no more. A ter- 
rible example has been given to the despots of the 
world. The axe of justice has struck down him 
who already was condemned by the conscience 
of the French people. This memorable judg- 
ment rests solely on the responsibility of the 
nation itself which takes this responsibility on its 
shoulders. The nation knows its enemies — the 
kings of the earth ; and if they demand an account 
of the Republic for a judgment which by the 
death of a king has placed all humanity on an 
equal footing, every French citizen will present 
himself as the responsible party/'' 

There is only one ground upon which to base a 
justification for the death of Louis, and that is 
its political necessity. The charges preferred 
against him did not warrant his execution, but 
the argument was that a sacrifice had to be made 
to secure the safety and the stability of the 
Republic, even though it resulted in the death of 
an innocent man. It was not the only state trial 
in the world in which political considerations were 
of greater weight in effecting a judgment than 
proof of actual guilt. When Charles Stuart, 
king of England, was brought before the Court 
of High Commission in Westminster Hall, he 
was found guilty and sentenced to death upon 
charges that were less grave than those that 
induced the conviction of Louis Capet, king of 
France. 

Louis XVI would have been an amiable mon- 
arch with good intentions and tendencies in a 
time of rest and contentment, but in a revolution 
35i 



DANTON 

his weakness was one of the causes of its violence. 
The period in which he reigned called for a king 
who had the qualities of a reformer or of a despot, 
but he was without the attributes of either. 
When he ascended the throne the people were 
tired of arbitrary rule and he was willing to 
renounce it, but he did not know how to grant 
concessions or to restrain violence. Overtaken 
and overwhelmed by the Revolution he was made 
the scapegoat for the sins of his ancestors and 
paid the penalty for their tyranny and crimes. 



352 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

DANTON OPPOSES FACTIONAL STRIFE THE TREA- 
SON OF DUMOURIEZ LASOURCE ATTACKS DAN- 
TON — THE REPLY OF DANTON 

Now was resumed the struggle for supremacy 
between the two dominant factions. It was a 
war to the death, to the bitter end. The trial and 
execution of Louis had so absorbed public atten- 
tion that the parties had ceased their bitter recrim- 
inations and had only been watching each other 
for points. Royalty, aristocracy, the hierarchy, 
and a king's life had been swept away. What 
was next to be done? If it was to be a republic 
of the masses then the party that stood for the 
middle classes was in turn to be destroyed. 

Girondins, do you not read the handwriting on 
the wall? Do you not know that it will require 
the clearest-headed statesmanship to avoid the 
perils that beset you ? In the natural sequence of 
events you are the next to fall. Can you not 
see that the Revolution is working down to the 
rabble ? 

At this time Danton came to the front and put 
forth every effort to allay the prevailing dissen- 
sions and to unite all factions in the interest of 
the Republic. " Citizens," he said, " now that 
the tyrant is dead let us turn our energies to the 
valiant prosecution of the war. We must fight 
23 353 



DANTON 

Europe; let us now reorganize the Committee of 
General Security and remove Roland from the 
ministry because he abuses all that do not share 
his opinions. Let us banish this habit of mutual 
recrimination, for France will soon not know to 
whom to accord her confidence. As for me, I am 
a stranger to the passion for revenge, but if we 
must drink blood let it be the blood of the enemies 
of humanity. What have I not done to maintain 
the spirit of peace in the executive council? I 
have only one desire and that is for my country's 
welfare, and to secure this I would willingly sac- 
rifice even my life." 

At first Danton had done everything in his 
power to avoid the war. Especially did he warn 
the Convention against provoking the enmity of 
England, but now that the conflict was on he 
devoted his best efforts to its energetic and suc- 
cessful prosecution. He believed it had been 
favored by the Girondins from a selfish and an 
ulterior motive, not so much for the glory of 
France as for the strengthening of their popularity 
as a party; but Danton was a Frenchman before 
all else and he allowed nothing, not even the selfish 
purposes of an opposite faction, to weaken his 
sentiments of loyalty and patriotism. He had 
been in Belgium and was well informed on the 
condition of affairs at the seat of war, and he 
believed that a defeat of the French armies was 
not only possible but highly probable. He knew 
full well what such a repulse would mean if the 
government at home was not strong enough to 
counteract its effects. 

354 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

After the death of the king the allies pressed 
with their armies on the borders of France and 
threatened an overwhelming invasion. The an- 
swer to this threat was a decree by the Con- 
vention authorizing a levy of 300,000 men. 
Roland resigned from the ministry on the 226., 
and Garat was named to fill the place tempo- 
rarily. 

The commander of the army, Dumouriez, was 
in an ugly mood. He complained that he re- 
ceived no home support, that he was covered 
with reproaches and continually suspected of con- 
spiring to establish a military government. 
" Though I be called Caesar, Cromwell, or Monk," 
he declared, " I will save my country in spite of 
the Jacobins and the Constitutional regicides who 
protect them, and I will re-establish the Consti- 
tution of 1 79 1." Danton and Lacroix were dis- 
patched as commissioners to the army. Danton, 
seeing the way things were going, hastened back 
to Paris and made his report to the Convention. 

" When the invader," he exclaimed, " is at the 
gates of Paris, I know no enemy but the foreign 
foe. Your quarrels are contemptible. They do 
not kill a single Prussian. You fatigue me with 
your feuds; let us beat back the enemies of 
France, let us conquer our freedom. Let us con- 
quer Holland; let us reanimate the republican 
party in England. Let us roll France forward 
to meet her foes. Fulfil your great destiny. No 
more quarrels, no more factional strife and the 
country is saved. I have been personally assailed 
but I care not for that if only France be free." 
355 



DANTON 

Dumouriez had invaded Holland and had won 
a succession of victories. He was now in a posi- 
tion of power; beloved by his army and enjoying 
by reason of his triumphs great prestige in the 
capital, he thought the road to his ambition was 
open. Thereupon he made preparations to 
organize an army in Belgium and Holland, march 
to Paris, overthrow the revolutionary govern- 
ment, and establish a constitutional monarchy 
with the Duke of Orleans on the throne; but 

" The best laid schemes o' mice and men 
Gang aft a-gley." 

The Austrians under Archduke Charles at- 
tacked Miranda, one of the generals who com- 
manded a division of the grand army of Dumou- 
riez, and disastrously defeated him. Quickly fol- 
lowing up his victory the duke drove the French 
out of Belgium. This disconcerted the plans of 
Dumouriez and shattered his hopes. He put 
forth, however, stupendous efforts to unite his 
scattered forces, and made a stand at Neerwinden, 
but was severely beaten and compelled to retreat 
into France. 

His designs being by this time pretty well 
understood and his loyalty suspected, the Con- 
vention sent three commissioners to question him 
as to his purpose. The soldier with his charac- 
teristic boldness frankly admitted that he favored 
a counter-revolution. Upon the return of the 
commissioners to Paris, the Convention, on the 
strength of their report, sent agents to arrest 
him; he surrendered them at once to the Aus- 
356 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

trians, who threw them into prison, where they 
were detained for three years. 

When the soldiers were informed of the real 
facts and convinced of their commander's dis- 
loyalty they turned upon him, and to save his life 
he galloped in hot haste across the borders. He 
was shot at but escaped unhurt. The next day 
he had the effrontery to return and make an earn- 
est appeal to the troops to desert their colors ; his 
argument was so persuasive that he actually suc- 
ceeded in carrying off 800 officers and men. He 
joined the Austrians but lost heart in fighting 
against France in the ranks of her enemies, and 
shortly afterwards retired to Amsterdam. He 
subsequently took up his residence in England, 
where he died in 1823. 

The defection of Dumouriez reflected upon 
Danton, for it was owing mainly to his influence 
that the general had been given his command; 
further than this, Danton, during his visits to 
Belgium, had been in communication so close and 
so frequent with him that he was suspected of 
being a party to the scheme to overthrow the 
Republic. A few days after the desertion of 
Dumouriez, Lasource attacked Danton in the 
Convention, and intimated that he had partici- 
pated in the treason of the general. " I move," 
he said, " that a committee of investigation be 
named that the facts may be inquired into and the 
truth ascertained. The people have seen the 
throne and the Capitol; let them now behold the 
Tarpeian rock and the scaffold. Let us declare 
that we will never make terms with a tyrant and 
357 



DANTON 

let us swear the death of him who shall attempt 
to make himself king or dictator." The whole 
Assembly rose and repeated the oath. 

As he sat writhing under the attack of his 
assailant, Danton revealed in his face the emo- 
tions that were struggling within him. When 
on his way to the tribune he stopped in front of 
the benches of the Mountain and, leaning over to 
the friends of Robespierre, said in an undertone 
while pointing with his hand toward the Giron- 
dins : " The wretches, they would cast their 
crimes upon us." His reply from the tribune 
was furious and crushing, his enemies recoiling 
under the attack. " No peace," he cried, " no 
truce, no further negotiations with them." These 
words sounded the death knell of the Girondins. 

At the conclusion of the speech the Mountain- 
eers welcomed the new convert to their ranks 
with open arms and with every manifestation of 
joy. They knew full well what his accession 
meant to their cause. The Girondins on the other 
hand, with their usual political blindness or 
obliquity of vision, failed to see that they had 
stricken down the one man above all others whose 
prowess and friendship they could have depended 
upon in the final struggle with their enemies. 
Nor were they right in their conclusions in so far 
as their suspicions of his loyalty were concerned. 
They not only assailed a friend, but misjudged 
him. 

At the time of his victories the popularity of 
Dumouriez was unbounded, and Danton was at 
the summit, in the very plentitude of his power. 
358 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

One was the commander-in-chief of the army, 
the other was the leading representative of the 
people; that is to say one was the arm and the 
other was the head of the nation. If these two 
men had formed a combination, they might have 
divided the raiment of France between them, but 
there is not the slightest proof that Danton ever 
thought of such a thing. Dumouriez was an 
arch-conspirator, he loved intrigue, his ambition 
for political power was all but boundless — it was 
measured only by the limit of its possibilities. 
For personal advancement he would willingly 
have betrayed his country by overturning the 
Republic and declaring himself military dictator. 
When his plots were discovered he deserted his 
colors, abandoned the army, and fled from his 
native land. The Revolution to him was only a 
game in which ambition played for the stakes. 
So far as its real purposes and principles were 
concerned, it had to him no meaning; it was 
merely an opportunity. 

Danton, be it said to his honor, was not given 
to conspiracies of this character, nor to treason- 
able designs. He loved France and her people; 
his patriotism was circumscribed alone by the 
borders of his country; her welfare was his sole 
consideration, and he never gave the slightest 
intimation, even when his influence was dominant, 
of centring in himself the exercise of absolute 
power or the setting up of a dictatorship. In 
truth, when he thought that France had been suf- 
ficiently purged by the Revolution, he announced 
that it was time for a reaction, for the establish- 
359 



DANTON 

ment of a stable and righteous government. He 
had not the temperament of a usurper; he was 
not worried by a teasing ambition that urged him 
to usurp the sovereignty of the people; he was 
constantly loyal to the principles of the Revolu- 
tion and to the Republic. 

It was Madame Roland that instilled into the 
minds of the Girondins her dislike, her hatred for 
this man. No matter how earnestly he declared 
his friendship, she always suspected his purpose. 
It made no difference how much he proved his 
fealty, his conduct was misinterpreted. Con- 
trolled alone by her prejudices she at last suc- 
ceeded in separating her party entirely from his 
influence, and thus was lost the only safeguard 
between them and destruction. It is not hard 
to believe that the attack made by Lasource upon 
Danton was instigated by her. In alluding to 
Madame Roland, Danton upon one occasion 
asked, " Why do these Girondins not take a man 
for their leader ? This woman will destroy them. 
She is the Circe of the Republic." 

Although the Girondins had ignored the advice 
of Danton, had humbled his pride, and had openly 
assailed him, he always had a secret admiration 
for his rivals, and even when he assisted in their 
downfall he sought only their humiliation, not 
their destruction. 

The struggle between the Jacobins and the 
Girondins did not abate as time wore on. The 
Republic was not big enough to contain both 
parties and it was but a question which would 
survive. The Girondins had lost in a great meas- 
360 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

ure their popularity among the Parisians. They 
had made a grave mistake in showing a loyalty to 
the provinces rather than to the capital. In fact 
some of their orators in their hot and vehement 
speeches intimated that the time was not far dis- 
tant when the provinces would be arrayed against 
the capital. These indiscreet expressions greatly 
incensed the Parisians, and the Girondins, con- 
temptuously designated as " mere provincials," 
were most bitterly denounced in every quarter of 
the city. The newspapers were especially de- 
nunciatory in charging them with attempting 
to create antagonism between the town and the 
country districts. 

How different was the patriotic sentiment of 
Danton, who exclaimed : " As for me, I am not 
a child of Paris. I was born in a department 
toward which I always turn an affectionate and 
a longing eye. But no one of us belongs to this 
or that department; we all belong to the whole 
of France. It is said there are men among us 
who wish to cut France into pieces. France 
must remain an undivided whole with an undi- 
vided representation. The citizens of Marseilles 
want to clasp the hands of their fellow citizens of 
Dunkirk." 



361 



CHAPTER XXIX 

DANTON MARAT'S ARREST AND TRIUMPH 

GIRONDINS CHARLOTTE CORDAY ASSASSINA- 
TION OF MARAT EXECUTION OF CHARLOTTE 

CORDAY MARRIAGE OF DANTON TRIAL AND 

EXECUTION OF MARIE ANTOINETTE 

Danton at this time was the first man in the 
Republic. His reputation had been seriously 
affected by the defection of Dumouriez, but by 
reason of his energetic measures to recover lost 
ground and to repair the damage done by the gen- 
eral's treason he had re-instated himself in public 
favor and had removed every vestige of suspicion. 

His appeals to the patriotic ardor of the people 
rang through the Republic like a trumpet blast. 
There was no hesitation, no despondency about 
him; the gloomier the hour the more courageous 
his soul. He kept alive the war spirit; at the 
stamp of his foot armies rose out of the earth and 
France was surrounded by a barrier of freemen. 
" Let us fulfil our grand destiny," he cried. " No 
more dissensions, no more internal quarrels, and 
the fatherland is saved." He saw that a grave 
mistake had been made by the enactment of the 
decree of November 18, 1792, in which the Re- 
public had declared war against all kings. It but 
provoked opposition. It was simply a reckless 
362 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

defiance that arrayed all Europe against France, 
and to counteract the effect of legislation so fool- 
ish and bombastic, the decree at his instance was 
repealed on April 13, 1793. 

Marat was like a famished wolf on a trail of 
blood in his pursuit of the Girondins. They 
never were radical enough for him and they had 
always been subjected to his scurrilous attacks, 
but now in view of their unpopularity he was 
more than ever fierce and vindictive. Next to an 
aristocrat he despised one of these perfumed and 
silken republicans. " The death of tyrants," he 
cried, " is the last right of slaves. Caesar was 
assassinated in the public Senate, let us treat the 
traitorous representatives of the country in the 
same manner — let us slay them upon their 
benches, the theatre of their crimes." Of course 
the enmity of the Girondins was aroused and they 
but waited for an opportunity to entrap their foe. 

In his rantings Marat had advised the mob 
that when hungry they should help themselves; 
the consequence was that bread and meat shops 
were plundered in every direction. The Giron- 
dins, believing that the time had come to retali- 
ate upon their enemy, publicly condemned the 
preaching of such doctrines, and upon their 
motion Marat was brought for trial before the 
Revolutionary Tribunal, April 22, 1793. He 
came with an army of hoodlums at his back, for 
this king of the slums had retainers as loyal as 
any that ever followed a prince of the blood royal 
to court or to battle. 

After a short trial he was unanimously ac- 
363 



DANTON 

quitted, as was to be expected under the cir- 
cumstances, when the personnel of the court and 
the persuasive presence of the mob are taken into 
consideration. Marat was carried by his enthu- 
siastic followers in triumph through the streets. 
He was seated on a chair, which was fastened to 
a plank, " the buckler of sedition on which the 
proletaires inaugurated the king of indigence." 
Four stalwart men bore him aloft above the heads 
of the crowd. This squalid creature with his 
patched coat, soiled linen, and long hair falling 
over his shoulders presented a woeful appearance, 
but his very poverty was picturesque and appealed 
to the sympathies of the people. To them it was 
his badge of honor, the distinguishing sign of his 
loyalty. He was proud of his exaltation and the 
homage paid him and he manifested in his look 
and manner every expression of joy. The 
women from the markets crowned him and cov- 
ered him with flowers, working men abandoned 
their toil to greet him, the windows in the houses 
were filled with applauding admirers. The 
streets were crowded with multitudes of people 
that enthusiastically joined in the ovation. He 
was carried to the Convention, which was 
invaded by the mob and the sitting interrupted. 
Here he made a short address in which he 
declared that the Girondins too would have their 
day of triumph but it would be on the way to the 
scaffold. As usual he was arrogant, presumptu- 
ous, ferocious. His acquittal had made him, if 
possible, even more insolent and had whetted his 
appetite for blood. His apostrophes were so 
364 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

wild that he provoked the sneers of Robespierre, 
who in sheer disgust of declarations so anarchis- 
tic shrugged his shouders and exhibited every 
sign of impatience. Marat observing this threw 
a glance of defiance at Robespierre and called 
him " lache scclcrat," but the latter deigned no 
reply — every feature of his face, however, re- 
vealed his scorn and the contempt he felt. 

After leaving the Convention the crowd carried 
their idol to the Club of the Cordeliers. Here 
Marat harangued the people without restraint or 
reserve; he breathed out fire and blood, every 
sentence was inflammatory and sanguinary and 
punctuated by the cries of the people : " Mort aitx 
Girondins." Night had fallen when Marat 
started to return to his lodgings, the crowd escort- 
ing him with torches. The houses in his neigh- 
borhood were illuminated. 

" Behold my palace," he exclaimed, as he 
ascended the rickety staircase of his humble 
home, and " behold my sceptre," as he pointed 
to his pen; ''it is with this that I have effected 
the transfer of the sovereignty of the Tuileries 
unto this den." 

The mob lingered around as all mobs do, even 
after there is no further reason for their presence, 
but later in the night dispersed after shrieking in 
chorus, " Vive 1'ami du pen pic." Such was the 
triumph of Marat. He had been crowned and 
enthroned by the rabble and in him now, more 
than ever, was personified the multitude. 

Danton had advised several of the members of 
the Girondins with whom he was still friendly, to 
365 



DANTON 

act with caution and not to arouse needlessly the 
passions of the people. He urged them to with- 
draw the prosecution, warned them against the 
danger of what he called " mutilating the Con- 
vention," and declared that they made a mistake 
in establishing a precedent by the arrest of a 
deputy and that this act would come home in time 
to plague and distress them. Not only did the 
Girondins refuse to take his advice, but they 
turned upon him and denounced him most bit- 
terly as a defender of anarchists and anarchy. 
They did not seem to know it, but it was his hos- 
tility they had to fear more than that of a dozen 
Marats. 

So bitter had the public feeling grown against 
the Girondins that a motion was made to expel 
them from the Assembly. The Commune made 
a formal demand on the Convention to deliver 
up twelve of the members of that party to the 
Revolutionary Tribunal for trial. Isnard, the 
president of the body, being provoked almost to 
desperation by these motions and threats against 
his party, greatly increased the public anger by 
exclaiming in a speech from the tribune : " If by 
any of the insurrections that have grown so fre- 
quent since the ioth of March, a hostile hand be 
raised against the national representatives, I 
declare to you in the name of all France that 
Paris will be destroyed. — Yes, France would rise 
against such a crime and it soon would be a mat- 
ter of doubt on which side of the Seine Paris 
had stood." Danton, fairly bristling with rage, 
denounced Isnard for his insolence and declared 
366 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

that his words were tumultuous and insurrection- 
ary. After this violent scene, the Convention 
adjourned, but the combat was renewed the fol- 
lowing day. 

The mob gathered outside the hall and loudly 
clamored for the accusation and arrest of 
twenty-two Girondins specially objectionable to 
the people. A warrant had been issued for 
Roland, but he fled before it could be served. 
His wife came to the hall of the Convention 
hoping to gain admission and make one of her 
appeals, but the crowd was so dense and the 
disorder so great that she could not secure access. 
It was also deemed prudent by her friends, 
because of the mob's temper, that she should at 
once withdraw. It is very doubtful if, at this 
time, her beauty and eloquence could have calmed 
the tumult. It had gone far beyond the stage 
when it could be controlled by the honeyed words 
of a fascinating woman. 

Under the stress of public opinion a decree of 
accusation was passed against the Girondins on 
June 2, 1793. Notwithstanding this fact they 
were generally allowed to go and come as they 
pleased, but their presence was not tolerated in 
the Convention. It was the purpose of their 
enemies at this point to terrorize and not to 
punish them further. 

After they were expelled from the Convention 
they naturally chafed, as proud and independent 
men, under the humiliation and appealed to 
their constituents for assistance; for, as their 
popularity had waned in the capital, it had in a 
367 



DANTON 

greater ratio increased in the provinces. Many 
of the departments unfurled the banner of revolt 
and denounced the unjust and arbitrary action of 
the Assembly, that deprived them of the represen- 
tation they were entitled to in the National Con- 
gress under the law of the land. It looked as if 
a spirit of insurrection would possess the Republic 
from one end to the other. Two-thirds of the 
departments already threatened rebellion. 

Danton rose equal to the occasion and his voice 
rang out above all the alarm and confusion. 
" We are in the midst of storms ; the thunder 
rolls. It is in the midst of these clashings that 
the work will be done that will immortalize the 
French nation. They claim that it is the insur- 
rection of Paris that causes these movements in 
the departments. I declare in the face of the 
universe that the events of May 31st and June 
2d constitute the glory of this superb city. I 
proclaim in the face of France that without the 
cannon and the insurrection the conspirators 
would have triumphed. We are willing then to 
face the whole responsibility resulting therefrom. 
I myself incited to the rising of the people by 
saying that if there were in the Convention a 
hundred men like me we should overcome the con- 
spiracy and found liberty on immovable founda- 
tions. Do not mind the addresses, full of 
calumnies against Paris, which the conspirators 
have sent to the departments; they are no new 
things. Paris remains the centre where every- 
thing must concentrate. Paris is the focus that 
will gather all rays of French patriotism which 
368 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

will consume our enemies." He declared that 
to oppose the Assembly was to surrender France 
to the emigrant princes and to foreign kings. 

Upon his motion Commissioners of the Con- 
vention, representing, like the envoys of ancient 
Rome, the integrity of the Republic, were sent 
at once into the disaffected districts. In their 
hats they wore three plumes of the national 
colors, red, white and blue; around their waists 
were tri-color scarfs and at their sides in black 
leather belts hung naked swords, the scabbards 
having been thrown away. There was no use, 
it was thought, to sheathe that which the Repub- 
lic straightway might have to use. The envoys 
were resolute men and they soon made it known 
that rebellion against the Convention was treason 
to the Republic, and France was pacified in three 
days. " The seventy-two departments which had 
declared for us," cried a disheartened Girondin, 
" turned round and abandoned us in twenty-four 
hours." 

The Girondins as a party formed one of the 
most interesting groups of men in the Revolu- 
tion. Their ranks contained some of the great- 
est orators of that period and their weakness as 
a party was that they depended more upon their 
eloquence than upon political organization. They 
were poorly directed in their policies and con- 
duct. None of their measures succeeded, as 
they were imprudently proposed and badly sus- 
tained. Their threats were ill-timed and their 
attacks were only half fought out. " They 
assailed the Mountaineers without weakening 
24 369 



DANTON 

them, the Commune without subduing it, the 
faubourgs without suppressing them, and irri- 
tated Paris by invoking the aid of the depart- 
ments without procuring it." They assailed 
Robespierre without destroying him, accused 
Marat without convicting him, and denounced 
Danton without sustaining their charge. They 
thus imprudently arrayed against themselves the 
strongest forces and individuals in the Revolu- 
tion. Although somewhat too provincial in their 
views they were nevertheless thoroughly patriotic 
and loved every inch of the soil of France. Many 
of them were dreamers, visionaries, but the ma- 
jority were practical enough to establish a stable 
popular government if they had been given a 
fair chance. Had they been allowed to fashion 
the Republic, it would have been eminently re- 
spectable and the rabble would have had but little 
to do with the manipulation of its machinery. 

As the Revolution plunged along on its course, 
however, their hopes and illusions vanished. 
Outwitted and overthrown by their unscrupulous 
adversaries, they saw the government fall into 
the hands of corrupt and reckless men. They 
endeavored to stem the current, but it was too 
strong for them to direct or control. The riot- 
ings, the massacres, and the executions sickened 
them and they pleaded for moderation and 
favored a counter-revolution. Their method to 
bring this about was abstract speculation and 
their action consisted only in declamation. It 
was a combat between eloquence and force, and 
the result was a foregone conclusion; it reminds 
37o 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

one of the contest between Demosthenes and 
Philip. The Olynthiacs and the Philippics, 
whose eloquence has thrilled the hearts of all 
succeeding generations, and ought to have saved 
Athenian liberty, could not prevail against the 
gold and the phalanxes of the sturdy conqueror 
from Macedon. Metaphysical statesmen, a fas- 
cinating woman, parlor politics, and drawing- 
room caucuses were of no avail in this contro- 
versy; they went for naught in the desperate 
game that was being played for supremacy, a 
game that had for its stakes an empire and its 
political control. " Les Girondins" said Danton, 
" sont de beaux diseurs et gens de procedcs. 
Mais Us n'ont jamais porte que la plume et la 
baton d' huissier." 

In the midst of these exciting scenes and times, 
Danton, notwithstanding his engrossing cares 
and duties in the political field, was being plagued 
by Cupid, and on the 17th day of June, 1793, 
married Mademoiselle Gely, a girl but sixteen 
years of age. Her parents were respectable, 
royalistic and religious. Her father, through the 
influence of Danton, had secured a lucrative gov- 
ernment position, and the family in consequence 
felt themselves under obligations to the great 
politician; but it was a long while before the 
mother could be induced to give her consent to 
the marriage. She instinctively drew back from 
Danton; she looked upon him with feelings akin 
to horror because of the part he had taken in the 
events of the 10th of August, and in the Sep- 
tember massacres, and it required much persua- 
37i 



DANTON 

sion to remove her prejudices and objections. 
But he was so ardent and so vehement a lover 
that he broke down all opposition between him 
and the object of his desire, and argued away- 
even the scruples of a pious mother. The cere- 
mony was performed by an orthodox priest and 
Lamartine states that just before the marriage 
Danton retired to an inner room and made con- 
fession. Belloc asserts that the union was not 
a happy one, but we know that when Danton was 
upon the platform of the guillotine the only 
thought that unnerved him was the recollection 
of his " dear, beloved wife." Danton had no 
children by this marriage, but he had two sons 
by his first wife, and after his death they were 
cared for by their step-mother and her family. 
In after years they were engaged in business at 
Arcis sur Aube and lived on the family farm near 
that town. They sought a life of seclusion to 
avoid hearing the execrations heaped upon the 
memory of their father, for during the days of the 
reaction and the restoration his enemies then no 
longer spared him. 

At this time Marat was demanding a strong 
executive, intimating a dictatorship, that the 
powers and functions of government might be 
more efficiently exercised and that the enemies of 
the country might be more summarily dispatched. 
In the meantime, in place of the despotism of 
kings, the Revolution had established the des- 
potism of the mob. The rabble was supreme. 
The agitation had brought the dregs to the top. 

Marat was still pursuing the Girondins with 
372 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

a hatred made more bitter because of his recent 
prosecution and in the columns of his paper he 
denounced them with all the venom and malig- 
nity of his nature. He was not satisfied with 
their expulsion from the Convention, but de- 
manded that they be brought before the Revolu- 
tionary Tribunal. He was no apprentice in the 
use of his pen, in his style he was a writer of no 
mean ability and his attacks were not only irritat- 
ing but exasperating. He was the father of yel- 
low journalism, and knew how to build a struc- 
ture of apparent truth upon a mere rumor. Per- 
sonal reputations were nothing to him if by ridi- 
cule and defamation he could weaken or destroy 
the power and influence of an enemy. 

Men in public life may appear to disregard the 
attacks of newspapers, but that man is coarse and 
insensate who does not feel the sting of abuse. 
" I am destined," said Napoleon, " to be a fine 
morsel for the pamphleteers, but I have no fear 
of becoming their victim, they will gnaw on 
granite." He thought he was a law unto him- 
self, and yet no autocrat ever so resented adverse 
criticism and so arbitrarily censored the press. 
No man should object to just censure or even the 
denunciation of his views, but by abuse is meant 
the impugning of his motives or a reflection upon 
his honor and his conduct. " Censure is the tax 
a man pays to the public for being eminent," but 
no one likes to be held up to the scorn, contempt, 
or ridicule of his fellow men. 

At nothing did Marat hesitate in his attacks 
upon the Girondins; they were stigmatized as 
373 



DANTON 

traitors, aristocrats, conspirators, provincials, 
who sought the destruction of the capital and the 
restoration of the monarchy. They were charged 
with being inimical to the Constitution and the 
Republic and with having favored even the seces- 
sion of the Gironde from France. The constant 
repetition of these allegations induced the public 
to believe they were true, for the people are im- 
pressed by what they see in print. Hebert joined 
in the hue and cry and poured a torrent of abuse 
through the columns of his filthy paper. 

The Girondins had acted imprudently in at- 
tacking Robespierre, in assailing Danton un- 
justly, in pressing the prosecution against Marat, 
and in threatening the destruction of Paris, and 
they were paying a heavy penalty for their indis- 
cretions. Because of their unfair treatment of 
Danton they had provoked the resentment of his 
friend, Camille Desmoulins, whose anger was 
something to be feared and whose pen touched 
the quick. 

Although as a party the Girondins were not 
popular in the capital, they still had many friends 
in the provinces and their supporters believed 
that Marat was chiefly responsible for all the ills 
and defeats that had befallen them. 

In a diligence that ran from Caen to Paris, on 
a bright, clear morning in July, 1793, a young 
woman took passage booked for one seat for the 
whole distance. Glowing with beauty and intelli- 
gence she attracted at once the attention of her 
fellow passengers. Modest in demeanor, but with 
a carriage that denoted refinement, she had safe- 
374 





Charlotte Corday 

From an engraving in the collection of 

William J. Latta, Esq. 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

guard enough, though traveling alone, to protect, 
her from insult and from any undue familiarity. 

After a long journey, over dusty roads in the 
heat of mid-summer weather, she reached Paris, 
sought the pension that had been recommended 
to her by a friend in Caen, and when night fell, 
retired early. In the morning she wrote a letter 
to Marat, and then strolled to the Palais Royal, 
where she purchased in a cutler's shop a sheath 
knife. Concealing it under her shawl she went 
to Marat's lodgings, and after a spirited alterca- 
tion with the housekeeper, who insisted upon 
closing the door in her face, she was, at the com- 
mand of Marat, who overheard the controversy, 
admitted into his presence. While the doctor 
was seated in his bath she allayed his suspicions, 
if he had any, by engaging him in conversation, 
and giving him a list of the prominent traitors 
in Normandy. Gloating over the information, 
chuckling with glee, and impatient to hear more, 
he exclaimed: "Go on! my child, go on!" 
Quickly drawing the knife from beneath her 
shawl and summoning all her strength, she 
plunged the weapon into the heart of the wretch 
all the way to the hilt. The water of the bath 
was soon crimsoned with his gore and it looked 
as if the monster had, at last, met his just doom, 
— drowned in a tub of blood. A cry of agony 
from the dying man soon brought assistance and 
the assassin was arrested. 

It was Charlotte Corday who committed this 
crime to avenge the wrongs inflicted upon the 
Girondins. She saw in Marat their arch-enemy 
375 



DANTON 

and from among all the radicals she selected 
him as the one who was chiefly responsible for 
the ills her friends had suffered. Brooding over 
these matters and anxious to serve her country, 
she made up her mind— a mind inflamed by the 
excitement of the times and the rumors and 
stories that were in circulation — to save the 
Girondins from further abuse and injustice by 
the assassination of their enemy. Nothing could 
have been worse for the cause she espoused, for 
she opened the way to the scaffold for her friends 
and transformed Marat from a monster into a 
martyr. 

At her trial counsel was assigned her in the 
person of a brave young lawyer named Chaveau 
Lagarde, who afterwards attained distinction in 
his profession. It was an honor fraught with 
danger to be chosen to represent the accused, 
for it must be borne in mind that an attorney 
in those days shared the peril with his client. 
There was not much need for counsel, however, 
for the trial was of short duration. When the 
prosecuting officer called a witness to prove that 
the knife had been purchased from a cutler in 
the Palais Royal the prisoner arose and frankly 
declared that there was no use to go to the 
trouble of questioning witnesses. " It is I that 
killed Marat," she said. " What tempted you? " 
she was asked. "His crimes," she replied; "I 
killed one man to save one hundred thousand." 
She declined the services of a priest on the 
ground that she needed no shriving. 

She was carried to the guillotine in the midst 
376 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

of a terrific storm, the lightning flashed and the 
rain came down in torrents. She was robed in 
scarlet, the garb of a murderess, and her wet 
garments clinging to her form revealed the 
beauty of its contour. With a courageous, but 
not defiant mien, she sat erect, with her arms 
pinioned behind her back, and looked into the 
faces of the cold and unsympathetic crowd. Dan- 
ton and Robespierre stood together in the recess 
of a window watching the procession. Only one 
person in all that vast multitude of people gave 
her a look of sympathy. It was Adam Lux, a 
young deputy to the Convention from Mayence. 
After her death he spoke in admiration of her 
deed and in denunciation of her murder, but he 
paid the penalty for his treason by carrying his 
head to the scaffold. He gloried in his death, 
yet he sacrificed his life for a mere sentiment. 
" She has ruined us," said Vergniaud, " but she 
has taught us how to die." 

By rotation Danton became president of the 
Convention on July 25, 1793. France was dis- 
turbed by internal dissensions and threatened 
with invasion. Trade was languishing, commerce 
was dead, every port was blockaded, the assignats 
were daily depreciating in value. The soldiers 
had neither bread nor shoes and the supply of 
powder was almost exhausted. 

The British and the Austrians had united their 
forces and were overrunning the northern fron- 
tier. The Prussians were in Alsace. The English 
flag was flying over Toulon, and Mayence had 
surrendered. The allies were so confident of 
377 



DANTON 

the outcome that they already were beginning 
to consider the question of the dismemberment 
of France. Austria had her eye on Flanders, 
Lorraine, and Alsace; England was looking 
askance at Dunkirk; Prussia was willing to take 
as her share of the booty some territory that lay 
close to her borders; and Spain thought Ros- 
signal would about satisfy her cupidity. But the 
real energy of France had not yet been tested. 
Apparently overwhelmed, she rose in all her 
strength and hurled back from her gates the 
insolent invaders who already in their imagina- 
tion had divided her raiment. 

The spirit of Danton was undaunted even in 
the face of impending disaster; at no period of 
his career did he display greater ability and cour- 
age. On the 2nd of August he ascended the 
tribune and urged the creation of a revolutionary 
government, to be vested with absolute power 
under the control of the Committee of Public 
Safety. " The peril is imminent," he said, " but 
our people are determined. Since it is to be war 
let us be terrible; let us make war like lions; let 
us boldly establish a revolutionary government 
that can utilize the whole national energy for 
gigantic measures. I declare it is my firm inten- 
tion not to be a member of that government; I 
want to be always free to spur on those who 
carry on the government. I demand that fifty 
million francs be placed at its disposal, for which 
funds it shall render account when its mission is 
at an end, but with power of spending the sum in 
one single day if thought expedient. Let us be 
378 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

extravagantly prodigal for the cause of liberty 
and it will be returned to us a hundred fold. It 
would be shameful for us if the haughty minister 
of a despot should have superior resources and a 
larger purse than those charged with the regen- 
eration of the world." The haughty minister 
referred to was William Pitt. 

The Committee of Public Safety had originally 
been created on January 21, 1793, and was com- 
posed of nine members. Danton was president 
during the summer of that year and he knew by 
experience the terrific power that was wielded 
by such a body, but he believed the conditions 
of the country were such as to require an enlarge- 
ment of the scope of its authority. 

The new Committee of Public Safety was 
organized and vested with dictatorial power, the 
fortunes and even the lives of citizens were at 
its disposal — a body with the power of a despot 
and the heart of a patriot. It was soon known 
as the Great Committee. At first it was com- 
posed of twenty-five members, which number 
was afterwards reduced to twelve, and these 
were Robespierre, Carnot, St. Just, Billaud- 
Varennes, Collot d'Herbois, Couthon, Robert 
Lindet, Herault de Sechelles, Barere, Jean Bon, 
Prieur of the Marne and Prieur of the Cote d'Or. 

This body controlled the whole machinery of 
government, its power was absolute, its sessions 
were held in secret, it nominated and dismissed 
envoys, ministers, generals, judges, magistrates 
and juries of the Revolutionary Tribunal. It 
suggested measures to the Convention and domi- 
379 



DANTON 

nated legislation, controlled all the departments, 
supervised the army, and made requisitions of 
men and money. It pursued inexorably the vio- 
lators of the law of the Maximum and counter- 
feiters of assignats. To prevent speculation it 
summarily closed the Stock Exchange, and even 
attempted to expel all notoriously lewd women 
from France because " the Republic needed vigor- 
ous bodies and Spartan souls." 

It was the despotism that France submitted 
to as the price of her liberty. " We despots ! " 
exclaimed Jean Bon ; " Ah, no doubt we are, if 
despotism is to secure the triumph of freedom. 
Such a despotism is political regeneration." 

Danton made a great mistake from both per- 
sonal and political considerations when he re- 
fused to become a member of this committee. 
Less than a year from its creation it sacrificed 
its creator. After the decree was passed direct- 
ing the organization of the Committee of Public 
Safety, Danton came forward with another meas- 
ure to meet conditions ; it was heroic in character 
and provided for a levee en masse. " All unmar- 
ried citizens and childless widowers between 
eighteen and twenty-five years of age shall go 
forth," was the language of the decree. " So 
long as the fatherland is in danger all Frenchmen 
shall be liable to military service. Let the young 
men go to battle, the married men forge arms 
and transport subsistence; let the women make 
tents and clothes and serve in the hospitals; let 
the children make old linen into lint; let the old 
men gather in the public places, encourage the 
380 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

soldiers and preach the hatred of kings and the 
unity of the Republic." Four hundred thousand 
men under the act of conscription went forth 
to battle. 

On the 14th of October, 1793, Marie Antoi- 
nette was brought before the Revolutionary Tri- 
bunal. There was nothing of the queen about 
her but her stately bearing and dignified com- 
posure. All her beauty was gone; gray, emaci- 
ated, and wrinkled, she revealed in every feature 
of her face the agony through which her soul had 
passed. The indictment against her contained 
any number of charges, many of them offenses 
she had never committed; among them was one 
alleging that she had debauched her son. 

To this she deigned no reply, and upon a 
juror's asking her if she had anything to say on 
that point, she calmly answered : " I appeal to 
every mother in this room whether such a crime 
be possible." Even the rough women from the 
slums who came to mock and jeer her were 
silenced into pity. The matter was pushed no 
further, for the galleries began to murmur their 
disapproval. So foul an accusation found its 
conception only in the putrid mind of Hebert, 
the infamous editor of " Pere Duchesne." 
" Madman ! " exclaimed Robespierre, " was it not 
enough for him to have asserted that she was a 
Messalina without making an Agrippina of 
her ! " 

She was found guilty, among other things, of 
having corresponded with the leaders of the coali- 
tion, and this without anything else was enough 
381 



DANTON 

to seal her doom. As she left the court-room 
and was descending the staircase she complained 
of not being able to see. A guard more polite 
than discreet offered her his arm and for this 
gallantry he was subsequently dismissed from 
his position by the Commune. Surely the age 
of chivalry had departed. She was no longer 
queen, but a woman in distress; not the royal 
Marie Antoinette, but the sorrowing widow 
Capet, yet she aroused no sympathy in the hearts 
of men, and woe to him who dared to offer her 
even the common civilities of life. The heart of 
charity as well as the spirit of gallantry was out 
of France. This hatred was not engendered in 
a fortnight; it took centuries of insolence and 
tyranny to develop such a feeling. It long ante- 
dated the reign of Marie Antoinette ; she was but 
the victim who paid the penalty for the despot- 
ism of past ages. 

On the day of execution as she came out of 
the prison, a shade of horror passed over her 
features when she saw the tumbril awaiting her. 
She had expected to be conducted to the guillo- 
tine in a closed carriage as was the king. For 
a moment she recoiled and hesitated as if about 
to retrace her steps, but bowing in submission 
to this last indignity, she ascended the car. She 
bore her trials with fortitude, with a spirit of 
resignation. " In prosperity she had been friv- 
olous, in misfortune she was sublime." She no 
longer complained. "I am," she said, "beyond 
the limit of suffering." 

While on the way to the scaffold the crowd 
382 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

mockingly cried, "Place a la veuve Capet!" 
Once when the cart almost jolted her off the 
seat some lusty viragoes on the sidewalk shouted 
in derision : " Would Madame like a soft cushion 
from Trianon ? " Upon reaching the platform 
she stumbled and stepped on the foot of Samson 
who uttered a cry of pain. " Oh, I beg your 
pardon, Monsieur," she said in her most gracious 
tones. As she stood upon the platform she cast 
one longing, lingering look towards the palace 
of the Tuileries. Oh, what a flood of recollec- 
tions must have swept over her as she recalled 
the happy days long gone! 

" Ncssun maggior dolore 
Che ricordarsi del tempo felice 
Nella miseria." 

When her head fell into the basket the crowd 
shouted, " Long live the Republic." Then the 
multitude melted slowly away, wondering who 
would be the next victim to call them to the 
Place de la Revolution. 

There is no woman in all history whose story 
is so pathetic as Marie Antoinette's. Born to 
the purple, the daughter of an empress, she 
became the wife of a king. Attractive, vivacious, 
and with a beauty that was resplendent, it seemed 
as if Fortune had showered upon her every 
favor; but Nemesis must have stood at her cradle, 
for she was pursued and overtaken by a fate that 
was relentless and merciless. The contrasts in 
her life give her woes a darker shade. She 
danced at Trianon and languished in a prison. 
383 



DANTON 

The nation that welcomed her to the throne, 
jeered her on the scaffold. She quaffed the 
waters of " the well-spring of pleasure," but at 
last she drank the cup of sorrow to its dregs. 
Deprived of her children, her boy placed in the 
care of a brutal master, she felt the agony that 
only a mother's heart can know. The indignities, 
the humiliations she suffered were more than 
human nature could bear ; her hair grew white in 
a night and her eyes were smitten with blindness. 
" It is now sixteen or seventeen years," wrote 
Burke, " since I saw the queen of France, then 
the Dauphiness, at Versailles — glittering like the 
morning star, full of life and splendor and joy. 
Little did I dream that I should have lived to 
see such disasters fallen upon her in a nation of 
gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and 
of cavaliers. I thought ten thousand swords 
must have leaped from their scabbards to avenge 
even a look that threatened her with insult. But 
the age of chivalry is gone." 



384 



CHAPTER XXX 

TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF GIRONDINS EXECU- 
TION OF MADAME ROLAND,, PHILIPPE d'OR- 

LEANS, BARNAVE, BAILLY DETHRONEMENT OF 

RELIGION — DANTON FAVORS REACTION 

The Girondins soon followed in the wake of 
the queen. When they appeared at the bar for 
trial the court-room was crowded, for it was ex- 
pected that a group of lawyers and orators with 
talents so magnificent would revive the days of 
Demosthenes and Cicero; but, like all others be- 
fore that inexorable tribunal, they lost their pres- 
ence of mind. They well knew that an arraign- 
ment at that bar meant the sealing of their doom, 
and men do not make a grand effort in the face 
of the inevitable, nor set up a strong defense and 
eloquently plead in a case where there is not a ray 
of hope. 

The trial lasted for a week amidst much con- 
fusion. The bitterest enemies of the defendants 
were called to the stand and the most irrelevant 
testimony was submitted, for Fouquier was de- 
termined they should not escape from the meshes 
of the indictment in which like a net he had en- 
tangled them. At last, the judges and the jury 
complained of weariness and it was decided to 
bring the case summarily to a close; besides it 
25 385 



DANTON 

was thought and feared that a further continu- 
ance of the trial would increase the public senti- 
ment for clemency, for there had been a slight 
reaction in favor of the prisoners. 

When the verdict was rendered there was the 
greatest uproar. Several of the accused had ex- 
pected an acquittal and they cried out in bitter 
disappointment. Boileau loudly protested against 
the finding, flung his hat in the air, and declared 
that he was a Jacobin, a Montagnard, and that 
it was unjust to confound him with the Girondins. 
The only answer to his outcry was a look of 
contempt from the spectators. Sillery threw 
away his crutch exclaiming : " It is the most 
glorious day of my life." Many embraced and 
the weak-hearted were encouraged. In a far 
corner of the room a young man suddenly forced 
his way through the crowd, trying to reach the 
open air, and in desperation called out : " It is 
I that killed them, their blood is upon my head." 
This was Camille Desmoulins, and he was right 
in a measure ; for it was an article he had written 
in his journal entitled " The Unveiling of Bris- 
sot " that had been taken as the foundation of 
the accusation. The counts in the indictment 
were virtually the charges contained in the de- 
nunciation of Camille, and Fouquier had woven 
them very skillfully into his bill. Gladly would 
Camille have obliterated every word he had writ- 
ten in condemnation of these men, but it was too 
late. Spoken words may be forgotten, they pass 
into thin air; but written words live. 

It was after the first excitement was over that 
386 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

the prisoners displayed their real heroism; then 
their courage returned and they faced death with 
composure. " We die innocent. Vive la Repub- 
lique" they exclaimed almost in one voice. 
Valaze suddenly slipped from the bench upon 
which he was sitting and fell to the floor. Bris- 
sot, leaning over him, said: " Are you afraid? " 
" No," was the answer, " I am dying." He had 
thrust a dagger into his breast and expired almost 
immediately while holding the hilt in his hand. 
It was eleven o'clock at night when sentence was 
imposed, and this included even the suicide who 
was to be carried back to prison, conveyed in 
the same cart with his accomplices to the scaffold 
and then interred with them. This is perhaps 
the only instance on record where a court pun- 
ished the dead. 

When the condemned returned to the prison 
they made the arches and corridors ring with the 
singing of the Marseillaise. One of their friends 
outside had conveyed to them wines and viands 
for a last supper and shortly after midnight the 
table was spread in the great hall of the dungeon. 
Vergniaud's eloquence was never more brilliant. 
The conversation was spirited but thoughtful; 
the wit was lively but not coarse. Their conduct 
was in no sense frivolous, nor did they display 
a foolish bravado in the nearness of death. It 
was a symposium of philosophers. They dis- 
cussed the future of the Republic and then turned 
to the question of an eternal life. It was almost 
dawn before they separated, each to go to his cell 
to sleep if possible. 

387 



DANTON 

It was a beautiful morning in the autumn of 
1793 when five carts drove out of the prison yard 
into the street. " Here they come," shouted the 
crowd; necks were craned and men and women 
stood on tip-toe to get a last glimpse of " the im- 
mortals." The condemned were bareheaded and 
in their shirt sleeves, their coats loosely thrown 
over their shoulders. They stood upright and 
met the gaze of the multitude with intrepidity, 
but not with disdain, for in their hearts they 
loved the people. In unison their voices rang 
out in the chorus of the Marseillaise: 

" Allons enfans de la patrie 
La jour de gloire est arrive." 

They went to their death singing a song tri- 
umphant. They died like men, giving all they 
had to France, even their blood; that they would 
willingly have sacrificed, had they been sure it 
was for the welfare of their country, but they de- 
parted this life, fearing that the Republic was 
doomed. " We have killed the tree by pruning 
it," said Vergniaud; "it was too aged. The 
soil is too weak to nourish the roots of civic lib- 
erty; this people is too childish to wield its laws 
without hurting itself. It will return to its kings 
as babes return to their toys. We were deceived 
as to the age in which we were born and in 
which we die for the freedom of the world. We 
deemed ourselves at Rome and we were at 
Paris." They had hoped to give an ideal repub- 
lic to France, but the Revolution would not have 
it, and in return for all their noble efforts they 
388 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

were carted like cattle to the shambles. They 
were not criminals, but martyrs in the holy cause 
of . human liberty and death upon the scaffold, 
under such circumstances, is not a disgrace, but 
an honor. " Le crime fait la honte et non pas 
I'echafaud" 

After the execution of the living, the corpse 
of Valaze was beheaded. There was no satis- 
fying the voracious appetite of the guillotine for 
blood, even the dead were devoured. One cart 
bore away all the bodies and one grave received 
them. The entire cost of their burial was 210 
francs, less than 10 francs each. 

Of the Girondins who were not at this time 
executed, Guadet and Salles had fled, but were 
captured later and executed at Bordeaux. Bar- 
baroux, Petion, and Buzot escaped arrest and 
wandered as fugitives,, suffering untold agonies, 
until the midsummer of 1794, when Barbaroux, 
worn out by anguish and suspense, blew out his 
brains with a pistol. A few days after Petion 
and Buzot were found in a cornfield, their bodies 
half eaten by dogs. Louvet, after untold hard- 
ships, returned to Paris, had a meeting with his 
sweetheart and afterwards reached Switzerland 
in safety. His sufferings would have been unen- 
durable to any man with a spirit less indomitable 
than his. 

" That party," said Napoleon, " might have 
destroyed the Mountain and governed France if 
they had pursued a manly and straightforward 
course. It was the refinements of metaphysicians 
that occasioned their fall." Dumouriez in his 
389 



DANTON 

Memoirs writes, " One man alone could have 
saved the Girondins, but they completely alien- 
ated him, although I had counseled them to keep 
fair with him. This man was Danton. . . . 
If the Girondins had possessed good sense enough 
to have coalesced with him, he would have hum- 
bled the atrocious faction of Marat, either tamed 
or annihilated the Jacobins, and perhaps Louis 
would have been indebted to him for his life ; 
but the Girondins provoked him and he sacrificed 
everything in his vengeance." This imputation 
of vengeance is entirely false. 

Danton was in Arcis at the time the Girondins 
were executed, and when the information reached 
the town a neighbor asked Danton if he had 
heard the good news. " Good news," said Dan- 
ton, " that is a terrible misfortune and menaces 
all of us; it imperils the future of France." He 
had tried hard to save them, for he clearly saw 
the dangerous path they were treading. He even 
had a secret conference with them at midnight, 
but they would not hearken to his advice. 
" These orators whom he would have defended 
and whose genius he loved " would not trust him. 
" I did my best," he said, " to save them; I wish 
to God I could have saved them." 

Garat, the minister of the interior, entreated 
Robespierre to come to their assistance. " Do 
not speak of it again," said Robespierre impa- 
tiently. " I cannot save them ; there are periods 
in revolutions when to live is a crime and when 
men must know how to surrender their heads 
when demanded." 

390 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Emerging from the prison and stepping gaily to 
the scaffold, " clad in white, with her long black 
hair hanging down to her girdle," came Madame 
Roland, the plebeian queen, she whose radiant 
beauty and brilliant conversation had so often 
enlivened the salons of the Girondins. All her 
dreams and illusions, all her hopes and ambitions, 
were dissipated. The ideal republic that she had 
reared in her imagination was in ruins and France 
had fallen into the hands of vulgar despots. 

Lamarche, one of her companions in execution, 
trembled with fear and to show him how easy 
it was to die she requested Samson to allow her 
to go first. " It is against the order," replied 
Samson. " Pshaw ! " she said, " you cannot refuse 
the last request of a lady." The grim executioner 
shrugged his shoulders and yielded. She went to 
her death without a tremor, exclaiming as she 
ascended the steps of the platform : " O Liberty, 
what crimes are committed in thy name ! " She 
died with an aphorism upon her lips, but not a 
word of supplication nor a prayer. Her husband, 
who some time before had fled into exile, upon 
hearing of her death committed suicide. 

In the early days of the Revolution Foulon de- 
clared, " France needs to be mowed." As a roy- 
alist he thought it high time to set the reaper at 
work. Those days had gone by, yet the mowing 
was being done with a vengeance, but the scythe 
was in other hands. Such a chopping off of 
heads the world has never witnessed. " Sainte 
Gaillotin" said a well-known revolutionist, " est 
dans la phis brillante activitc! Quel maitre 
39i 



DANTON 

boucher que ce gar con la! " A long procession 
inarched daily to the scaffold, and it looked as 
if the executions would never end. France was 
bleeding at every pore. " Guillotin va tou jours/' 
It was drenched with blood. Only when the 
darkness of night fell upon the city was this im- 
plement of death at rest, and then Samson to 
relieve the monotony of his life work would hie 
him to the playhouse. 

In this march of death came statesmen, politi- 
cians, ex-ministers, unsuccessful generals and 
even a prince of the blood royal. Philippe d'Or- 
leans, Egalite, " Jacobin Prince of the Blood," 
was summoned before the Revolutionary Tri- 
bunal and condemned. He confronted his ac- 
cusers calmly. Cool and polite he displayed a 
remarkable nerve. When sentence was pro- 
nounced not a muscle quivered. He was a man 
of infamous character and had devoted his life 
to high-living and debauchery. He early es- 
poused the principles of the Revolution for no 
other reason than his personal dislike of the 
king and consequently he was despised by royalty 
and the noblesse. Not possessing that high type 
of character that would have been the guarantee 
of his sincerity in adopting a course that appar- 
ently was so diametrically opposed to that which 
he should have taken, his conduct naturally in- 
duced to an impugning of his motives. 

As a prince of the blood royal he had turned 

his back upon his class by an open espousal of 

the popular cause, and his purposes of course 

were suspected. He was charged by the royalists 

392 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

with conspiring to overthrow and supplant the 
king, but he really seems to have been actuated 
and controlled in his conduct more by hatred than 
ambition. The queen despised him and the mere 
mention of his name in her presence would make 
her face turn white with rage. The rabble soon 
found this out and when they desired specially to 
offend or insult her they would shout long life to 
the duke. Though a cousin of Louis, after 
voting for his death, he was brutal enough to 
attend the execution and then drove away to one 
of his retreats to celebrate the event with revelry 
and debauch. He had faith in neither God nor 
man and his only regret in dying was that he left 
so much behind and in comparatively so early a 
period of his life, when his zest for its pleasures 
was still keen — he was forty-six years of age. 

On the morning of his execution he ate a 
hearty breakfast of oysters and steak, drank a 
bottle of claret, and was even particular about 
having the wine of a certain vintage. He ar- 
ranged his toilet with more than usual care, he 
was shaved, powdered and perfumed as if going 
to a ball. He wore a green frock coat, a waist- 
coat of white pique, yellow buckskins, and high 
boots. 

On his way to the scaffold he was driven past 
the old Palais Royal, at that time called the Palais 
Egalite, the property no longer of his princely 
house but of the nation. The crowd purposely 
delayed the cart at this point, in cruel mockery; 
they jeered and hooted and showered their impre- 
cations upon him who had once been their idol 
393 



DANTON 

and whose bust they had once carried through 
the city in triumph. He appreciated the truth 
that popularity is but a passing echo when he 
exclaimed : " Those people used to applaud me." 
Upon reaching the guillotine Samson insisted 
upon drawing off the duke's boots. " Tush," 
said Philippe, " they will come better off after. 
Let us make haste." 

" Nothing in his life 
Became him like the leaving it ; he died 
As one that had been studied in his death, 
To throw away the dearest thing he owned 
As 'twere a careless trifle." 

In this train of death came Madame Du Barry, 
" ex-harlot of a whilom majesty," she at whose 
feet the mighty had begged for favors and in 
whose boudoirs Louis XV had met and advised 
with his ministers of state. Death had its terrors 
for her and on her way to execution she shrieked 
and begged for mercy. Adam Lux, a deputy 
from Mayence, also went to the scaffold for the 
pamphlet he had written in affectionate commem- 
oration of Charlotte Corday. Another who 
bravely met his doom was Barnave — the elegant 
Barnave, patriot, lawyer, orator, adviser of the 
queen, whose heart's sympathy for a suffering 
woman had weakened his ardor for the Revolu- 
tion. 

The gentle, kindly Bailly, philosopher and as- 
tronomer, suffered a cruel fate. It would have 
been better for him had he kept on watching the 
stars instead of meddling in the affairs of men. 
394 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

It was a cold and cheerless day when they carted 
him to execution, and the mob compelled him to 
stand in " a sleety drizzle " while they took down 
and removed the guillotine from the Champ-de- 
Mars, where he had ordered the troops to fire 
upon the people on the memorable 17th of June, 
to set it up in another place, — on a dung hill at 
the riverside. " You are trembling," said a by- 
stander. " Yes," said Bailly, " but it is from 
the cold, not fear." They prolonged his suffer- 
ings and mocked him in his agony, but the valiant 
soul of the good man sustained him to the last. 

Olympe de Gouges, Rouget de Lisle, the 
author of the Marseillaise, the priest Lamourette, 
he of the kiss episode, took their places in the 
column; and General Custine, who had fought 
so bravely under the standard of the Republic, 
marched with the air of a soldier to his death. 
When his troubles came, he wittily said : " For- 
tune is a woman and my hair is growing gray." 
On rolled this mighty torrent into eternity. The 
Revolution in its desire for victims was insatia- 
ble. It was an orgy of death. Rich and poor, 
high and low, sage and fool, priest and layman, 
dame and harlot, locked step in this dark line 
leading to the guillotine that seemed to stretch 
out to doomsday. In this eventful month of 
November, 1793, occurred scenes unparalleled in 
the world's history. 

Next after the monarchy had been destroyed 

came the dethronement of religion. A spirit of 

infidelity spread suddenly throughout the nation 

like an epidemic. A curate wrote to the Conven- 

395 



DANTON 

tion that he had been preaching a lie all his life, 
was tired of the occupation, and requested that he 
be assigned to employment more useful. The 
archbishop of Paris, Gobel by name, publicly re- 
nounced his faith. Influenced by this example 
and the prevailing spirit of the day, curates threw 
off their frocks, and monks and nuns their habits, 
and in sheer mockery of their vows many entered 
into civil contracts of marriage. Marriage was 
no longer a sacrament but an agreement, its dura- 
tion in many instances measured only by the con- 
venience and desires of the parties. Bells were 
taken from the steeples and melted into cannon ; 
the silver vessels of the church were sent to the 
mint to be coined, and the pewter was molded 
into bullets. 

In Paris mobs broke into the churches, drank 
the wine out of the chalices, and in contempt put 
fish on the patenas. A procession passed through 
the streets chanting in a serio-comic strain the 
music of the Te Deum set to profane and vulgar 
words. Men dressed in sacerdotal vestments 
rode on asses which were " housed with priests' 
cloaks and reined with priests' stoles." The 
riders, drunk with the wine they found in the 
churches, mockingly carried the communion cup 
and sacred wafer. " They stopped at the doors 
of dramshops, held out ciboruims, and the land- 
lord, stoup in hand, had to fill them thrice." 
Crosses were borne aloft and holy water was 
sprinkled over the heads of a laughing, jeering 
crowd that thronged the sidewalks. This gro- 
tesque procession wended its way to the Conven- 
396 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

tion, was admitted to the hall, and before it re- 
tired danced the Carmagnole, several deputies 
joining in the orgy. Danton, it is said, sat in his 
place watching gloomily the frenzy. 

This spirit was not confined to Paris, but 
spread like wildfire throughout all France. Bon- 
fires were made of church paraphernalia, priests' 
vestments, and prayer books, while crowds 
danced the Carmagnole and in ecstasy sang the 
wild strains of the Qa ira. 

Poor France, what will she do next? Of 
course she had to have a religion of some sort 
or form and so she set up a demoiselle of the 
opera, " a woman fair to look upon when well 
rouged," as the Goddess of Reason. There were 
no church vestments left so they clothed her in 
the habit of the Republic — on her head a Phygian 
cap garlanded with oak, over her shoulders a 
mantle of blue, and on her feet a pair of Roman 
sandals. In this attire, borne aloft upon a palan- 
quin, she was carried to the cathedral of Notre 
Dame, amidst music and flowers, where a pom- 
pous ceremony enthroned the new divinity. The 
monarchy, the king, the queen, the hierarchy, the 
aristocracy, the Girondins, and the church itself 
had been destroyed ; it was time to restore order, 
to establish peace, and to build up and strengthen 
the Republic ; but the appetite for blood was not 
yet satisfied and the Revolution began to gnaw 
at its own vitals. 

There were but two parties left to battle for 
supremacy, the Dantonists and the Jacobins, and 
the final struggle at once began. The Revolution 
397 



DANTON 

devoted itself to political assassination. Danton 
favored a reaction; he thought the time had ar- 
rived when the results of the Revolution should 
be secured, he seemed to face about and turn his 
back upon the guillotine. To him the assassina- 
tion of rivals was murder; the encompassing of 
the death of men merely to open the way for 
personal ambition, a heinous crime. 

After the execution of the Girondins he became 
supine, indifferent, his old-time vigor departed. 
He had gone to Arcis on October 12th to enjoy 
a short vacation, " to loaf and invite his soul." 
He wandered in the autumn woods, culled wild 
flowers, and listened to the song of birds. He 
delighted to visit those places that revived pleas- 
ant memories and he loved in his talks with the 
neighbors to become reminiscent and to recall 
the days gone by and the companions of his 
youth, many of them alas! long since departed. 
He was out of the turmoil enjoying the associa- 
tion of his friends and renewing " the old glad 
life " of his early years. Besides he was still 
indulging in the pleasures of a honeymoon. Dur- 
ing his vacation he was given ample time and op- 
portunity to meditate. The past in some aspects 
was like a nightmare and he was anxious that 
the results of the Revolution should, at the earli- 
est possible moment, be secured and enjoyed that 
they might justify the necessity for many of the 
deeds that otherwise would appear only as crimes. 

His friends in Paris appealed to him to come 
out of his lethargy and to return forthwith to the 
capital ; they informed him that his enemies were 
398 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

taking advantage of his absence to undermine 
his power and that he was putting in peril his 
party, the lives of his friends, and the cause he 
loved so well. But, conscious of his strength, 
he dallied with his dangers and laughed at their 
fears. He was evidently tired of the Revolution 
— that is, its massacres and executions. The 
death of the Girondins deeply affected him, for 
he believed they had been sacrificed to party 
clamor. He now favored a reaction, longed for 
peace, for the destruction of government by 
committee, and for the establishment of a repub- 
lic resting upon a strong constitution. 

During the spring and summer of 1793 he had 
been the most powerful man in France; he was 
the spirit of the Revolution, its leader, its incar- 
nation, but now he seemed to lose all ambition 
and energy and allowed the power he had so 
tenaciously held and so potentially wielded to 
slip from his grasp and pass into the hands of 
weaker men. It was not until December, 1793, 
that he returned to Paris from Arcis; by that 
time his enemies had woven a net about him, and 
the more he struggled to be free the more he 
became entangled in its meshes. Hercules, at 
last, was in the shirt of Nessus and the giant 
could do nothing but writhe. 



399 



CHAPTER XXXI 

TRIAL OF THE DANTONISTS 

" I am not a drinker of blood ; I am tired of 
this slaughter," exclaimed Danton. " Is it never 
to end? Is France to bleed to death?" While 
taking an evening stroll with Camille on the 
banks of the Seine he suddenly cried out : " The 
river is running blood." 

He longed for peace. He believed France had 
been sufficiently purged and was now ready for 
a new order of things under a stable government. 
He was never sanguinary in disposition ; the mere 
shedding of blood to him was an abomination. 
He had accepted " the fury of popular passion as 
an inevitable incident in the work of deliverance " 
from tyranny, but the day for violence had 
passed. His yearning for peace was taken by 
his enemies as a sign of weakness, or as they 
pretended to believe, the betrayal of the popular 
cause; in other words treason to the Revolution. 
" It is necessary," they said, " to wrest this false 
god from the multitude. This Pericles of cor- 
rupted Athens does not belong to Sparta." He 
was not the Danton of old and it seemed impossi- 
ble for him to throw off his lethargy. He was 
like a wounded wolf and the hungry pack now 
turned to rend and tear him to pieces, 
400 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

He was quoted as having said that he wished 
the French people were not quite so ready to find 
men guilty. " Who informed him," exclaimed 
Robespierre sneeringly, " that any innocent men 
had been convicted?" He was induced at this 
time by the Jacobins, against his inclination, to 
aid in the conviction of the Hebertists, and on 
March 24, 1794, they were guillotined. A fouler 
group of men the Revoution did not produce. 
As we look through the din and smoke of that 
murky period we can see the leer on the face of 
Hebert as he scoffs at everything sacred in reli- 
gion and pure in social and domestic life. As 
atheist and anarchist and as the author of the 
filthy publication entitled " Pere Duchesne," he 
exerted a most pernicious influence in every direc- 
tion. His execution was a blessing to France, 
but his death weakened Danton in that it 
strengthened his enemies, especially Billaud- 
Varennes, the most influential member of the 
Great Committee and one of Danton's most bitter 
and relentless foes. Napoleon in referring to 
Billaud declared that he was the most sanguinary 
of all the monsters that ruled in the " Reign of 
Terror." 

The destruction of the Hebertists was of great 
political advantage to Robespierre and was a 
move in the game well played by that wily poli- 
tician who was gradually hewing his way to the 
front. Danton knew the qualities of Robespierre 
and he was the only man in the Revolution whom 
he feared. In character and disposition they 
were so diametrically opposed that they never 
26 401 



DANTON 

could form a firm personal friendship. One was 
cold, calculating, and reserved; the other was 
ardent, bold, and free. 

Danton had come to the assistance of Robes- 
pierre time and again and Robespierre had re- 
turned the favor more than once. In fact when 
the Jacobin Club was purged in the winter of 
1793, Danton would have been expelled as a 
moderate had he not been defended by Robes- 
pierre, 

Billaud-Varennes, who with all the venom of 
his nature hated Danton, was determined to effect 
if possible his overthrow, and he at last per- 
suaded Robespierre to join in his plans. Robes- 
pierre was without the sentiment of gratitude; 
service rendered to him was forgotten if its 
remembrance interfered with his ambitions, and 
he was induced from selfish motives to surrender 
Danton to his enemies. It was one of the great- 
est blunders of his political career, for it only 
opened the way to his own destruction. 

Danton dreaded the envy of Robespierre. He 
at one time declared : " All will go well so long 
as men say Robespierre and Danton, but woe to 
me if ever they should say Danton and Robes- 
pierre." This expression shows, or at least inti- 
mates, that Danton was willing ostensibly to 
hold second place if Robespierre were thereby 
placated. It further shows that he knew the 
danger that lurked under the consuming ambition 
of the man. It is the only phrase on record 
emanating from Danton that evinces the slight- 
est tremor of fear or dread of any man's power. 
402 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

There had been a time when he held a mean 
opinion of Robespierre as a revolutionary leader. 
Expressing- himself in one of his characteristic 
references he said : " Cet homme la ne saurait 
pas cuire des a?ufs durs." — " That man is incapa- 
ble of boiling eggs hard." But as time ran on 
he changed his mind concerning this persistent, 
indefatigable, crafty fanatic. 

Robespierre had often expressed the wish to 
have the Revolution end in himself. This wish 
could not be consummated so long as Danton 
was alive, for the great tribune far overshadowed 
the little, scheming politician; so his death was 
decided upon. It was not a political necessity, 
which was the argument that had so often been 
made in the past to excuse the commission of 
crimes; it was only to effect the carrying to a 
successful conclusion of the plans of Robespierre. 
It was simply the removal of a political rival; 
it was not to insure the safety of the Republic, 
but to secure the ambitions of the man from 
Arras. Danton's execution was sheer murder. 

If at this period Danton had possessed his old- 
time vigor and Robespierre had assailed him, he 
would have strangled the viper ; but at the critical 
moment he weakened. His friends, who clearly 
saw the menacing danger, could not induce him 
to " dare." In the same way, later on, Robes- 
pierre lost heart when he saw his approaching 
downfall, and yielded submissively to the attacks 
of his foes. During this period Robespierre 
evinced no open hostility to Danton; indeed he 
allayed suspicion by appearing more friendly 
403 



DANTON 

than ever, like the serpent he was licking his 
victim before swallowing him. It was only the 
day prior to the arrest of the Dantonists that 
he fondled with affection Camille Desmoulins' 
little boy. 

When Danton was informed that Robespierre 
was scheming to overthrow him, he replied, " If 
I thought that were so, I would eat his bowels 
out." In a controversy he had with some of 
the political friends of Robespierre, he threat- 
ened to show on the floor of the Convention that 
the Great Committee was guilty of malversation 
and tyranny in the conduct of the war in La 
Vendee. This, of course, was carried to Robes- 
pierre in a greatly exaggerated form, and not 
only aroused his anger but put him on his guard, 
for he understood to the full what a threat 
meant coming from such a source. To threaten 
without striking in politics is to expose one's 
defense. 

As if smitten with blindness Danton seemed 
to be groping his way. This Ajax who had 
defied the thunderbolts of Jove became almost 
as weak, as powerless as a child. Here in the 
crisis of his life his nerve failed him. He who 
had " saved France from Brunswick," he who 
in the past had assured the faint-hearted and by 
his example had encouraged even the strongest, 
was unable to strike a blow in his own defense. 
He weakened at the wrong time. He had en- 
listed for the Revolution. A soldier has no right 
to rest upon his arms until the combat be over. 
404 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

" To arrest me," he cried, " they will not dare ;" 
then in the same breath he added, " Let them kill 
me if they will; I would rather be guillotined 
than guillotine." When some one suggested that 
he should depart, he answered : " If France 
drives me out where shall I go? I would be 
an outcast in any other land. One does not 
carry his country on the sole of his boot. I could 
enjoy no liberty abroad; because of the part I 
have taken in the Revolution prisons and dun- 
geons yawn for me in foreign lands ! " 

For some time past Camille had been writing 
in the columns of the " Vieux Cordelier " with 
more than his usual vigor and with the incisive- 
ness of Tacitus, — for " French under his pen 
was as concise and as monumental as the Latin " 
— those " fervent articles so full of earnest pas- 
sion and genius, those satirical, eloquent pages 
inspired by the fleeting events of the day and 
yet stamped with immortality." He had become 
the apostle of peace and was preaching the gospel 
of clemency. He eloquently appealed to the 
nation for the establishment of order. His arti- 
cles were beginning to soften the hearts of the 
people and were creating a reaction in the public 
mind. He, too, appealed personally to Robes- 
pierre, " his old school companion," to exert his 
influence in effecting a change in public senti- 
ment. He flattered his vanity, touched with a 
master hand his weak points, and almost reached 
his heart; but the Committee of Public Safety 
saw in these articles only an attempt to weaken 
405 



DANTON 

their powers and they determined to aid in ac- 
complishing the overthrow and destruction of 
the Dantonists. 

The following is a characteristic article from 
his pen and it is not hard to imagine that, at the 
time it was written, it was too caustic to meet 
the approval of those who were responsible for 
the prevailing system of suspicion and terror. 
It was one of the articles that provoked the re- 
sentment of the Great Committee. 

" At the present epoch words become state 
crimes ; and from this the transition is easy to 
simple looks, which, with sadness, compassion, 
sighs, nay, even absolute silence itself, are made 
the ground-work of suspicion. Is a citizen popu- 
lar ? He is a rival of the dictator ; and might ex- 
cite commotions. Does he on the other hand avoid 
society and live retired, in the bosom of his family? 
This secluded life makes him remarked, and ex- 
cites the suspicion that he is meditating sinister 
designs. Are you rich? There is imminent peril 
that the people may be corrupted by your largesses. 
Are you poor? You must be the more closely 
watched, because there is none so enterprising as 
those who have nothing to lose. Are you of a 
thoughtful and melancholy character with a neg- 
lected exterior? You are afflicted because in your 
opinion public affairs are not well conducted. 
Does a citizen indulge in dissipation and bring on 
indigestion? He is concealing ambition under the 
mask of pleasure. Is he virtuous and austere in 
his morals? He has constituted himself censor of 
the government. Is he a philosopher, an orator, 
a poet? He will soon acquire more consideration 
406 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

than the rulers of the State. Has he acquired 
reputation in war? His talents only make him 
the more dangerous and render it indispensable to 
remove him from the army, perhaps to send him to 
the scaffold. The natural death of a distinguished 
person, particularly if in place, has become so rare 
that historians transmit it as an event worthy of 
record to future ages. Even the death of so many 
innocent and estimable citizens seems a less calam- 
ity than the insolence and scandalous fortunes of 
those who have denounced, and murdered them. 
Every day the accuser makes his triumphal entry 
into the palace of death, to reap the harvest of 
some rich succession, and the tribunals which were 
once the protectors of life and property have be- 
come mere slaughter houses, where that which 
bears the name of confiscation and punishment is 
nothing but robbery and murder." 

The graphic pen of Camille had described too 
realistically the conditions to suit the views of 
the committee, and he was marked in their min- 
utes as one whose loyalty to the Revolution was 
doubted and whose temerity was treason. Accu- 
sation soon followed suspicion. 

When Danton was informed that the authori- 
ties had decided upon the arrest of the Danton- 
ists he muttered, " They will not dare — they will 
not dare." " You must resist," his friends said. 
" That means the shedding of more blood," he 
cried, " and I am sick of it." 

The warrant for Danton's arrest was issued 

on the 29th of March, 1794, and at midnight the 

armed police came to his house to serve it. They 

woke the echoes of the street by grounding their 

407 



DANTON 

arms and then knocking loudly at the door. 
Danton offered no resistance, but there was no 
tremor in his voice nor terror in his heart. His 
wife tremblingly embraced him, but he quieted 
her fears with an assurance that he would return 
in the morning at sunrise. " It is only au 
revoir," he said, " not adieu." 

Camille, who occupied the room above Dan- 
ton's in the same house, on hearing the noise 
in the street below turned to his wife and ex- 
claimed : " They have come to arrest me." 
Lucile fainted. Poor Lucile! how our hearts 
go out to her in sympathy. She soon followed 
her husband to the scaffold. Death came to her 
as a boon ; her only offense was that she had been 
the wife of Camille. What purpose could the 
Revolution have had in the execution of so gentle 
a creature? 

The arrest of Danton created, of course, the 
greatest excitement; people spoke in whispers as 
if afraid to complain aloud. The very audacity 
of the act terrorized the hearts of men. In the 
Assembly the anxiety was expressed in looks, 
not words. At last Legendre had the courage 
to say, " Citizens, four members of this body 
have been arrested during the night; Danton is 
one of them. I believe him to be as pure, as 
patriotic as myself; yet he is in a dungeon. The 
committee feared, no doubt, that his replies 
would overturn the accusations brought against 
him. I move, therefore, that before you listen 
to any report, you send for the prisoners and 
hear them." The motion was received with 
408 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

favor, but Robespierre mounting the tribune soon 
turned the current by saying : " It is easy to 
see by the agitation that pervades this chamber 
that a question of great interest is before us, a 
question whether two or three individuals shall 
be preferred to the country. We shall see to-day 
whether the Convention can crush to atoms a 
mock idol, long since decayed, or whether its 
fall shall overthrow both the Convention and the 
French people. " This was enough to restore 
silence and even make Legendre apologetically 
explain and excuse his temerity. Everyone has- 
tened to make peace with tyranny. 

In the prison Danton railed at death ; he alter- 
nately ranted and jested, laughed and swore. 
His conduct was that of a man incensed, but 
defiant even in the face of the inevitable. " I 
shall leave things in a frightful welter," he ex- 
claimed, " but if I could leave my legs to Cou- 
thon [who was paralyzed] and my vitality to 
Robespierre, things might still go on." " It is 
better," he cried again, " to be a poor fisherman 
than to meddle in the affairs of men." Turning 
to Herault de Sechelles he declared : " When 
men do foolish things they must know how to 
laugh at them. The cowardice of my enemies 
quieted my fears, I was deceived by their base 
policy." Addressing Camille, who was weeping, 
he said : " Of what use are those tears ? Should 
they send us to the scaffold let us walk there 
gayly." Mignet says of Danton : " Revolution 
in his opinion was a game at which the con- 
queror, if he required it, won the life of the con- 
409 



DANTON 

quered." Danton had lost and was about to 
pay forfeit. 

In the adjoining cell to Danton was Wester- 
mann; he quietly accepted his doom, an illustra- 
tion of the difference between the emotional Gaul 
and the phlegmatic Teuton. 

On April 2, 1794, the prisoners were arraigned 
before the Revolutionary Tribunal, a tribunal 
that had been created by Danton himself. After 
its institution he asked pardon of God and man 
for having established it ; "I did not think," he 
declared, " that it would become the scourge of 
humanity." 

The prisoners at the bar included Danton, 
Desmoulins, Westermann, Herault de Sechelles, 
Fabre d'Eglantine, Lacroix, and Philippeaux. 
Their attitude was haughty and resolute; their 
speech was audacious in substance and in man- 
ner and they treated their judges with an air of 
disdain and contempt that if not wise nor pru- 
dent was, at least, courageous. 

Hermann was president of the trial and Fou- 
quier Tinville the prosecuting officer. It was 
mainly through the influence of Camille that 
Fouquier had originally secured the appointment. 
His ugly, forbidding countenance but revealed 
the black perfidy and the cruel wickedness of his 
heart. Of all the faces that look at us out of 
the Revolution his seems to be the most hideous. 
He exhibited a most remarkable combination of 
qualities, and was truly one of the enigmas of 
those extraordinary times. He apparently had 
no idea that as prosecuting officer he owed a 
410 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

duty to the prisoner at the bar, while at the same 
time guarding the pleas and the interests of the 
State. In his desire to secure a conviction he 
would ignore every rule of evidence, introduce 
testimony neither true nor relevant, personally 
abuse the defendant, and browbeat the jurors 
as well as the witnesses. He outraged every 
principle of justice, ignored every form of law, 
and made the court a charnel house. An acquit- 
tal put him in a condition of vexation and de- 
spondency, while a conviction would lighten up 
and animate his gloomy features. A death sen- 
tence was agreeable and consoling and the only 
recreation he indulged in was a visit to the scaf- 
fold to see his victims perish. He was as inflex- 
ible as a rod of steel ; money, women, the pleas- 
ures of the table or the theatre had no attraction 
for him, nothing could seduce him from the pur- 
suit of the accused. He might have amassed an 
immense fortune but he remained to the last 
poor; it is said his wife died of starvation. His 
lodgings were mean and cheerless, destitute of 
every comfort and the furniture after his death 
sold for less than five hundred francs. The 
tribunal that he so long dominated sentenced 
him to the guillotine in 1795. At the time of 
his accusation Freron demanded that " the earth 
be freed from this monster and that, drunk with 
the blood of his victims, he be sent to hell to 
sleep himself sober." 

Such was the creature who, by his cold- 
blooded methods, drove the prisoners almost to 
exasperation. 

411 



DANTON 

On being questioned Danton replied : " My 
name is not unknown in the Revolution, my 
residence will soon be nowhere — I shall live in 
the Pantheon of history." Desmoulins replied 
in dramatic style : "I am thirty-three, the age 
of the Sans-Culotte Jesus — an age fatal to re- 
formers." Westermann, in answer to the ques- 
tions of the public prosecutor, said : " I am a 
general. I was a soldier at sixteen. I have 
seven wounds in front and I was never stabbed 
in the back until now." The charges preferred 
against Danton were absolutely without any 
foundation upon which to base a conviction. He 
was indicted inter alia for having served the 
king, for having drawn the people to the Champ 
de Mars, where they were slaughtered in July, 
1 79 1, for having failed to do his duty on the 
memorable ioth of August, for having enriched 
himself at the public expense, and for having 
conspired to overthrow the Republic. When he 
heard the counts in the indictment read, he flew 
into a rage and became so incensed that he did 
not even attempt to set up a defense in detail. 
It would, however, have made no difference, in 
so far as the final result was concerned, before 
that tribunal of inexorable men. He was ad- 
judged guilty before his trial began. In those 
days men did not strike and then relent. 

When he heard the report read by St. Just 
he raved like a wild beast. He designated the 
accusations. " a list of lies." As he thundered 
forth his denunciation of the charges, the 
methods of trial, and his accusers, his great 
412 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

voice was heard beyond the walls of the court^ 
room, even to the other side of the Seine. 

" Come now," he said, turning to Cambon, 
a witness, " do you really think we are con- 
spirators? Look, he is laughing, he believes 
nothing of the sort." Addressing the jury he 
smilingly said : " Put down in your notes, make 
a record of the fact that he laughed." Continu- 
ing Danton said : " We only ask an opportunity 
to be heard. If we are allowed to speak and 
the French people is what it should be, it will 
be my business later to ask pardon for my 
accusers." 

In his defense he made a speech that was 
characteristic, revealing his old-time vigor and 
ringing with an eloquence that was thrilling. 
" You say that I have been paid," he cried, 
" that I sold myself to Mirabeau, Orleans, and 
Dumouriez; but I tell you that men like me can- 
not be paid nor bought nor sold. I have served 
long enough and my life is a burden to me, but 
I will defend myself by telling you what I have 
done. It was I that from the Jacobins kept 
Mirabeau at Paris. It was I that made the pikes 
rise suddenly on the 20th of June and prevented 
the king's visit to St. Cloud. The day after 
the massacre at the Champ de Mars a warrant 
was out for my arrest. Men were sent to kill 
me at Arcis, but my people came and defended 
me. I had to fly to London, but I came back 
the moment Gar ran was elected. Do you not 
remember how at the Jacobins' I asked for the 
Republic? It was I that prepared the 10th of 
413 



DANTON 

August. You say that I went to Arcis. Yes, 
I did go there, and I am proud of it. Danton 
is a good son and I went to bid my mother good- 
by and to arrange my affairs because my life 
was about to be in peril. It was I that had 
Mandat killed because he had given an order 
to fire upon the people. I have served the Rev- 
olution in my own fashion and I would embrace 
my worst enemy for the sake of my country and 
I will give her my body if she needs the sacri- 
fice." 

In this strain Danton swept on. When he 
grew too impassioned and impressive, Hermann 
would try to drown his voice by ringing the bell, 
which only increased the noise and confusion. 
" A man speaking for his honor and his life," 
cried Danton, " cares nothing for your bell." 

The crowd outside, swayed by the passion and 
eloquence of the orator, responded at times to 
his appeals and muttered their disapproval of 
the methods of the court. Even the jurors were 
beginning to show signs of weakening. The 
judges saw the danger of continuing the trial 
and an adjournment was taken. 

The next day was given over to the examina- 
tion of Camille and Herault. Poor Camille's 
defense was weak and disjointed. He was in 
no sense an orator; it was with the pen, not 
with the tongue that he expressed his thoughts. 
Camille was the most brilliant journalist of his 
times, indeed France has not in any period pro- 
duced one that surpassed him, but when it came 
to making an extended speech in his own defense 
414 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

he was at a sad disadvantage. In the first place 
he was not accustomed to forensic speaking, and 
athough when upon his feet he did not lose the 
power of utterance, he thought and spoke so fast 
that his sentences became involved and did not 
convey the sense he intended. He was of a 
most nervous temperament and under the irrita- 
tion of the proceedings he grew excited and inco- 
herent; besides he had an impediment in his 
speech which at times made him halt and stam- 
mer. In consequence his whole address was a 
mere jumble of words. 

He had carefully prepared a written defense, 
but when the court paid no attention to its read- 
ing he tore it up and in desperation threw the 
pieces broadcast. This was the incident that 
gave rise to the story that the prisoners, to show 
their contempt for the proceedings, threw pellets 
of bread at the judges. They did not indulge in 
conduct so silly ; they knew to the full the danger 
that confronted them and appreciated the gravity 
of the situation. They were at all times bold, 
often defiant, but never frivolous. 

Every moment the trial continued made it 
more difficult to secure the conviction of the 
accused, and the managers of the prosecution de- 
cided to adopt heroic measures to bring it to a 
termination at the earliest possible moment. Ac- 
cordingly St. Just appeared before the Conven- 
tion and stated that the prisoners were in revolt, 
that their conduct was tumultuous, and that an 
end should be put to this public scandal by a 
decree directing the trial to close. Could there 
4i5 



DANTON 

be anything more contemptuous of justice than 
such legislation? 

The court met on the 5th of April at half past 
eight instead of ten o'clock, the usual hour. It 
was at the close of this day's session that a copy 
of the decree of the Convention was handed to 
the prosecuting officer, who exclaimed. " It has 
not come a whit too soon, we hold them now." 
The decree was at once read and the jury were 
asked to deliberate. The law gave juries the 
right to decide after three days' trial whether 
or not they were satisfied with the evidence sub- 
mitted. If in their opinion enough testimony 
had been produced to enable them to pass intel- 
ligently upon the facts, the trial rested and a 
verdict was rendered. This decree was as vile 
a piece of legislation as was ever enacted. It 
gave a partisan jury, in a political trial, the power 
summarily to dispose of the accused. In fact 
at the time of its passage, its supporters had no 
hesitation in declaring that such was its real pur- 
pose. From beginning to end, in every phase of 
its proceedings, the case was a farce. The trial 
was a travesty of justice; it was but the means 
to effect the commission of a crime. The death 
sentence imposed upon the prisoners was but a 
decree of assassination. Some of the jurors pro- 
tested against rendering a verdict of guilty upon 
testimony so weak, but they were browbeaten 
and soon driven into line. " Which do you pre- 
fer," they were asked, " the death of Danton or 
Robespierre?" "Of course," they stammered, 
feeling their necks to see if their heads were still 
416 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

on their bodies, " we would rather sacrifice Dan- 
ton than jeopard the life of the gentle and vir- 
tuous Robespierre." 

Thus Danton and his friends were convicted, 
but not in accordance with the rules of evidence, 
nor the forms of law. The charges were not in 
any item or particular sufficient to warrant a 
conviction, and even such as they were, they 
were not made out. The defendants were not 
permitted to call a witness, nor were they given 
a fair opportunity to present a defense. But 
no matter what might have been done, no matter 
how strong the testimony might have been, the 
result would have been the same. The prisoners 
were prejudged and nothing could have changed 
the purpose of their relentless accusers. 

27 



417 



CHAPTER XXXII 

EXECUTION OF THE DANTONISTS 

On the 5th day of April, 1794, between half 
past four and five o'clock in the afternoon, the 
carts carrying the condemned drove out of the 
prison yard into the public highway. It was a 
lovely, cloudless spring day and as the afternoon 
wore on the air grew cool and refreshing. 
Crowds were in waiting and lined the streets 
from the prison gate to the scaffold. A mob of 
hags and harridans, paid for their services, fol- 
lowed the carts, shouting their wild and hellish 
imprecations. 

As the people watched the passing tumbrils, 
it must have occurred to many of them that the 
Revolution was undergoing a great change. To 
be sure revolutionists had heretofore gone to 
the guillotine, but they had become moderates, 
or had fallen out of public favor ; but these men, 
passing, were the children of the Revolution, 
born of its spirit, its very bone and fibre. What 
had they done that the Revolution should seek 
their blood? Saturn truly was now devouring 
his own offspring, his first-born. 

Camille, that creature of emotion, was not 
wanting in moral courage, but he was so incensed 
and indignant at what he deemed the injustice 
418 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

of his fate that he raved and fumed like a mad- 
man. Between his paroxysms he tried to press 
his pinioned hands to his lips to kiss a lock of 
Lucile's hair. Leaning over the side of the tum- 
bril and appealing to the multitude he cried: 
" Do you not know me ? I am Camille, Camille 
Desmoulins. I was the first apostle of Liberty; 
it was I that called the people to arms at the 
beginning of the Revolution in the gardens of 
the Palais Royal." But the crowd, which never 
acts without a leader, gave him in return a stolid 
stare, or else brutal derision. It was for them 
he had striven and was now to shed his blood, 
a martyr in the holy cause of freedom, one of 
those heroes who die upon the scaffold in the 
world's everlasting struggle for man's liberty 
and redemption. 

Danton, like an elder brother, tried to calm 
and comfort him. " Do not," he said, " appeal 
to that vile rabble; they are deaf to your elo- 
quence. Leave them alone." By the time the 
guillotine was reached Camille had ceased to 
rave. Philippeaux and Lacroix were quiet, but 
disconsolate. Fabre sat in a corner of the cart 
with his head resting on his breast, muttering 
to himself and complaining because they had not 
given him time to finish a play he had in the 
course of composition. u Tais toil " said Dan- 
ton, " Dans "line semainc hi fcras asses de vers." 
Herault de Sechelles, brave, noble, of gentle 
birth, who early espoused the principles of the 
Revolution because he loved the people and hated 
injustice, bore himself with a quiet dignity and 
419 



DANTON 

went to his death like a gentleman and a hero. 
While passing the Garde Meuble he looked up 
at one of the high windows and saw a fair white 
hand wave him a last farewell. 

Westermann, the soldier, who had lived in 
camps and had faced the terrors of the battle- 
field from boyhood, composed, resigned, without 
a murmur on his lips, accepted his fate and met 
his doom with a nerve of iron. As a gamester 
who had played and lost, he paid the forfeit 
like a man. 

Danton laughed and sang. "I have gloried in 
the Revolution," he exclaimed; "I have worked 
much, enjoyed much. Many a revel have I had 
in my day. Now I will go to sleep." One say- 
ing of his worthy of remembrance is : "I have 
the consolation of believing that posterity will 
pardon the man who dies as chief of the faction 
of clemency." 

The condemned passed the house of Duplay, 
the carpenter, where Robespierre lived. The 
shutters were closed and there was no sign of 
life about the premises. Suddenly Danton rose 
to his feet and, turning in its direction, shrieked 
at the top of his voice : " You will follow us 
soon; your house shall be beaten down and salt 
sown in the place where it stood." Perhaps 
behind the shutters, peering through the slats, 
was Robespierre watching the passing carts that 
held his victims, and wondering after all whether 
or not the Revolution would end in himself. 
He could rejoice, at least, in that he had over- 
thrown the giant. 

420 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

In a doorway, sketching the occupants of the 
tumbril, stood David, the artist, who had been 
one of Danton's most implacable foes and who 
openly rejoiced over his downfall. Danton see- 
ing him cried out : " You are there, are you, 
varlet?" 

On they went, down the road at the end of 
which loomed up a great bare thing, as gaunt 
and as cheerless as a tree without leaves. In the 
crimson rays of the declining sun it seemed to 
be blood-red— dripping blood. The lengthening 
shadows of the afternoon made it look as if its 
long arms were stretched out to take into their 
embrace the victims in the approaching carts. 
"May I sing?" asked Danton when he reached 
the guillotine. " I know no reason why you 
should not if you so desire," answered Samson, 
and the great tribune sang a song which de- 
scribes him and his friends as reaching the banks 
of the river Phlegethon and paying to Charon, 
" citoyen red out able," more than the amount re- 
quired for ferriage across the black stream ; when 
the old man is about to give the change he is 
told to keep it to help pay for the passage of 
Robespierre and his companions who will soon 
be along. 

" Garde, lid dit Danton, la somme tout cntiere, 
Ce sera pour Couth on, Saint Just et Robespierre." 

One by one the prisoners ascended the steps 
to the platform, each stopping a moment to say 
farewell to Danton. As Herault turned to kiss 
his friend and leader on the cheek, the execu- 

421 



DANTON 

doners tore them violently apart. " Fools," cried 
Danton, " do you not know that our heads will 
in a moment meet in the basket? " At last Dan- 
ton was left alone, having witnessed with heroic 
fortitude the death of his friends — an ordeal 
through which to pass without flinching, required 
the greatest nerve. 

At times he was overheard by the executioners 
saying : " My poor dear wife, am I never to 
see you again?" but instantly recovering him- 
self he would mutter, " Courage, Danton ! no 
weakness ! " Addressing Samson he said : 
" You must show my head to the people, they 
will like to see it." This sounds like a rever- 
berating echo from the egoism of Mirabeau. 

For a few moments he stood on the platform, 
erect, with his head thrown back, his great figure 
outlined against a cloudless sky. A hush fell 
upon the people as he without trepidation looked 
over the multitude of upturned faces. His gaze 
fell upon a priest, whom he recognized by a pre- 
arranged signal, and he was given the sign of 
absolution. Then his great soul went out into 
eternity. 



422 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

DANTON HIS APPEARANCE HIS STYLE OF DRESS 

HIS CHARACTER HIS RELIGIOUS BELIEF 

WAS HE VENAL? POLITICIAN STATESMAN 

ORATOR HIS SHORT POLITICAL CAREER RE- 
SULTS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

With the exception of Mirabeau, Danton was 
the strongest character the Revolution produced. 
" He bore," says Mignet, " a physical resem- 
blance to that tribune of the higher classes. He 
had irregular features, a powerful voice, impetu- 
ous gesticulation, a daring eloquence, a lordly 
brow. Their vices too were the same, only Mira- 
beau's were those of a patrician, Danton's those 
of a democrat. That which there was of daring 
in the conceptions of Mirabeau was to be found 
in Danton, but in another way, because in the 
Revolution he belonged to another class and 
another epoch." So much, in many ways, did 
they resemble each other that Danton was fre- 
quently alluded to as the " Mirabeau of the Sans 
Culottes." 

In appearance Danton was impressive, pictur- 
esque. His massive, herculean frame towered 
above his fellows ; his head was surmounted by 
a heavy shock of black hair that resembled the 
mane of a lion; his shirt, open at the front, re- 
423 



DANTON 

vealed the sinewy neck of a bull; his eyes were 
small, deeply set but piercing; his nose was 
crushed; his face scarred, and his features were 
pitted with the smallpox. His very homeliness 
seemed to add force, even dignity, to his pres- 
ence, and when he arose to address the Assembly 
he displayed a vigor and exerted a power that 
not only riveted the attention of men but made 
his adversaries quail. As homely and as scarred 
in feature as Mirabeau, he followed the example 
of his great compeer by frequently in his public 
speeches alluding to his ugliness. Upon one 
occasion he cried out: " My Medusa head that 
makes the aristocrats to tremble." At the Jaco- 
bins' he declared that he had the harsh expression 
of freedom. " La nature m'a donne en partage 
les forces athletiques et la physio gnome dpre de la 
Liberte." 

" His rugged face reminds us," said one of 
his contemporaries, " of a caricature of Socra- 
tes." " He was marked," says a French author, 
" with the smallpox like Robespierre, but had 
a masculine countenance, broad nostrils, forward 
lips, and a bold air wholly unlike his." " The 
broad, rude features speak withal of wild human 
sympathies," says another. Carlyle, in his 
vividly descriptive style, pictures him as : " The 
huge, brawny figure ; through whose black brows 
and rude, flattened face there looks a waste of 
energy as of Hercules not yet furibund." To 
appreciate the force of such a countenance one 
must study every detail, every feature, and then 
424 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

combine them. " Paint me as I am," cried 
Cromwell, " warts and all." 

When animated in discussion Danton's face 
revealed every emotion of his soul. A distin- 
guished French historian describing him says : 
" What a frightful visage has this Danton ! Is 
this a cyclop or some goblin? That large face, 
so awfully scarred by the smallpox, with its small, 
dull eyes, looks like a brooding volcano. No, 
that is not a man, but the very element of con- 
fusion swayed by madness, fury, and fatality ! 
Awful genius, thou frightenest me! Art thou 
to save or ruin France?" Further on the same 
writer continues : " What frightens me the most 
is that he has no eyes; at least they are scarcely 
perceptible. What! is this terrible blind man 
to be the guide of nations? . . . And yet 
this monster is sublime. This face almost with- 
out eyes seems like a volcano without a crater — 
a volcano of horrors or of lire — which in its pent- 
up furnace is brooding over the struggles of 
nature. . . . How awful will be the erup- 
tion. . . . That face is like a nightmare 
from which one cannot escape, a horrible oppress- 
ive dream. . . . We become mechanically 
attracted towards this visible struggle of oppo- 
site principles. . . . It is a devoted CEdipus 
who, possessed with his own enigma, carries 
within his breast a terrible sphinx that will de- 
vour him." 

It is always interesting to picture a man whose 
character we are studying as he appeared to his 
425 



DANTON 

contemporaries in the everyday walks of life. 
During his attendance upon the sessions of the 
Assembly, he wore a dark blue coat with full 
skirts cut in the fashion of the period, broad 
flaps at the pockets, and two rows of brass but- 
tons; a colored vest or waistcoat, usually buff or 
yellow; culottes and top boots. If he had 
ever worn silk stockings and buckled shoes, 
he had long since discarded them. A stock 
and an expansive scarf or tie encircled his neck. 
He carried a watch and wore a fob. In the 
matter of attire it is certain he was not so par- 
ticular or fastidious as Robespierre, but there 
is sufficient proof that he was neither slouchy nor 
untidy, and that he did not affect that careless- 
ness in dress that was the homage the dema- 
gogues paid to the rabble. 

He was a whole-souled man of the world, fond 
of its pleasures; he often gave offense to many 
of his colleagues because of his aristocratic taste 
and extravagance, which they thought were not 
consistent in one who professed the austere vir- 
tues of republicanism. 

" There have been few stronger men than this 
Danton," says Watson. His natural endow- 
ments were great. They would have been great 
in any period, but in stirring times, that is in a 
revolution, they were of the highest order. His 
courage and daring were superb ; when others 
quailed in the face of disaster, when the armies 
of allied Europe threatened France, and the prov- 
inces were in revolt, he never wavered. It may 
be said of him, as Livy said of a celebrated 
426 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

Roman : " He never despaired of the Republic." 
Carlyle asserts that the French Revolution did 
produce some original men among the twenty- 
five millions, at least one or two units. Some 
reckon, he says, as many as three and then names 
them in the following order : Napoleon, Danton, 
and Mirabeau. Whether more will come to light 
he cannot say, but in the meanwhile he advises 
the world to be thankful for these three, well 
knowing how rare such men are. That indeed 
is a great group, and it may be said that without 
Danton, Napoleon, perhaps, would have had no 
theatre for his genius. So deeply did Danton 
impress himself upon the Revolution that it is 
difficult to imagine what its history would have 
been without him. No crisis daunted, no defeat 
disheartened, no danger nor disaster appalled 
him. 

" It is not the alarm-cannon that you hear," 
he cried when the Prussians were at Verdun 
and Paris was stricken with terror, " but the 
pas de charge against our enemies." " Retire 
behind the Loire? No!" he exclaimed, "rather 
than retreat and abandon the capital we will 
burn it to ashes." His was the ruling influence 
that effected the dethronement of the king, the 
destruction of the monarchy, and the establish- 
ment of the Republic. 

There were periods in the Revolution when 
he made its events, when he stamped his person- 
ality upon its character. He stood for its pur- 
poses, its principles. In him were concentrated 
its vigor, its force, its energy; he was the em- 
427 



DANTON 

bodiment of its violence. When it wavered he 
gave it an impetus; when its advance column 
halted or recoiled, he seized the standard and 
led the way. He had the superb qualities of lead- 
ership — those qualities that are not acquired by 
time, labor nor even experience, but are innate. 
Lord Brougham, who knew personally many of 
the patriarchs that survived the Revolution, said 
that they were all of one mind in declaring that 
Danton was unquestionably its principal leader. 
There was not one of his contemporaries, in the 
later period of the Revolution, that was his equal. 
It can almost be said that during a portion of 
1793 he was the Revolution. 

Such men as Danton make revolutions and 
reach results that weaklings could not encompass. 
They are made to fit conditions and they become 
instruments in the hands of Providence to effect 
those changes that are for the betterment of the 
human race in the eternal struggle for the ideal. 
They fill up large spaces in the exciting ,and trans- 
forming periods of the world's history. ) Without 
fear themselves, audacious and defiant', they in- 
spire the confidence and the courage of other 
men by their conduct and example. Their bra- 
very is contagious and infectious. 

Danton was the man for his times. He was 
possessed of the spirit of the Revolution, he loved 
to breathe its atmosphere. He delighted to brave 
its dangers, to bridge over its perils. The din 
and turmoil of controversy and contention were 
music to his ears. " Bold, ardent, greedy of 
excitement, he had thrown himself eagerly into 
428 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

the career of disturbance and he was more espe- 
cially qualified to shine in the days of terror." 
He was seldom if ever disconcerted; in an emer- 
gency, he had the presence of mind that comes 
from courage and possessed that quickness and 
accuracy of perception that enabled him to act 
with judgment and wisdom on the moment. He 
could perceive instantly the mistake of an adver- 
sary and had a fertility of resources upon which 
to draw to take advantage of the error. 

This man in his passion was as savage as a 
tiger, and yet naturally in disposition he was 
as affectionate as a child and as tender as a 
woman. " One sees those fire-eyes ... fill 
with the water of tears." He presented a mix- 
ture of the most opposite qualities. " He had 
impulses of humanity as he had of fury; he had 
low vices but generous passions — in a word he 
had a heart." 

" They say best men are molded out of faults." 

Lord Macaulay in describing him says : " He 
was brave and resolute, fond of pleasures, of 
power, and of distinction, with vehement pas- 
sions, with lax principles, but with some kind and 
manly feelings, capable of great crimes, but capa- 
ble also of friendship and of compassion." 

In the opinion of Morley, " He was one of the 
men who strike deep notes. He had that large- 
ness of motive, fullness of nature, and capacious- 
ness of mind which will always redeem a multi- 
tude of infirmities." 

He was ardently fond of his mother; he was 
429 



DANTON 

a faithful husband, a devoted father, and a loyal 
friend. " No man was truer to his friends or 
more dangerous to his foes." The love he had 
for his first wife was ideal and the affection he 
had for Camille was that of Jonathan for David. 
By nature he was a man of sentiment and deep 
emotions; he had fine taste and was passionately 
fond of books, music, and flowers. He was 
open-hearted, generous, of a most forgiving dis- 
position, too big to harbor a grudge, and no 
one would accept an apology more quickly, if 
sincere and offered in a proper spirit. 

In those days of slaughter, when life was so 
cheap, he would not encompass the death of a 
rival for the sake of advancing his own ambi- 
tions. " He was," says Stephens, " above petty 
feuds and laughed at the idea of vengeance on 
his personal enemies." At the time of the Sep- 
tember massacres he sacrificed none to personal 
animosity, as it was said Robespierre did, but, 
at his own instance and risk, saved enemies as 
well as friends from slaughter by having them 
released from prison. Appeals to his heart were 
seldom made in vain. He was not plagued by 
envy nor jealousy; those mean and little qualities 
were foreign to his nature. He was absolutely 
free from cant ; bold, outspoken, natural, with no 
affectation in manner or language, he was with- 
out the pretension to sincerity that so character- 
ized Robespierre. 

His religious faith was not well defined; it 
is very evident he was not hampered in his con- 
duct by the influence of any creed; even the 
430 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

principles of Christianity did not restrain him. 
Religion was not fashionable nor popular during 
the Revolution. The Church itself, for a century 
or more, had been honeycombed with scepticism 
and because of the corruption and extravagance 
of the upper clergy it had fallen into disfavor. 
There may, however, have been lingering in the 
heart of Danton, as there is in the heart of almost 
every man, the sweet influence of that early reli- 
gious training at the mother's knee. 

When Danton was married the second time, 
which was in July, 1793, at the very height of 
the Revolution, the ceremony was performed by 
an orthodox or non-juring j>riest. This may 
have been at the suggestion of the bride, for her 
mother was a very religious woman, and a man 
like Danton, who was not in any sense of the 
word a bigot, would be likely to treat such mat- 
ters with an utter disregard. So far as he per- 
sonally was concerned, it would not have made 
much difference to him who officiated, provided 
the ceremony was legal ; yet Lamartine says that 
he retired to an inner room and made confession 
just before he was married. As already stated, it 
is said that when he was upon the platform of 
the scaffold, a priest in the crowd, whom he 
recognized, gave him absolution. 

There were several instances when he spoke as 
if he believed in a living God. A notable occa- 
sion was when La Fayette entered the Club of 
the Jacobins after the flight of the king. Dan- 
ton, who was on his feet and speaking at the 
time, turned suddenly upon the general and ex- 
43i 



DANTON 

claimed : "lam going to talk as though I were 
at the bar of God's justice and I must say before 
you, Monsieur de La Fayette, what I would say 
in the presence of Him who reads all hearts." 
This is thoroughly orthodox in tone. It may 
have been, however, the mere fustian of the 
orator, or for the sake of emphasis, but it surely 
is the language that would come from the lips 
of a true believer. 

In opposing a motion of Cambon to separate 
the Church from the State he said : " It is 
treason against the nation to take away its 
dreams. For my part I admit I have known 
but one God. The God of all the world and of 
justice." 

At the time of the accusation of the Hebertists, 
a godless faction, he cried out against them: 
" We have not destroyed superstition to establish 
the reign of atheism." 

It may be safely asserted, that is if a man's 
language can be taken as proof of his religious 
faith, that Danton did believe in the existence 
of a God, of an overruling Providence. 

At his trial, when interrogated he answered : 
"I call myself Danton; my sojourn will soon 
be in annihilation." — "Ma demeure sera bientot 
dans le neant." This language does not make 
it appear that he had much hope in an after life; 
and this was the moment, when he was facing 
death, to test his real faith, for he knew when 
arraigned that he was doomed. His conduct at 
this time does not show that he was very much 
concerned about the question of religion or a 
432 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

future existence. He surely did not, from a 
Christian's point of view, make much prepara- 
tion for the world to come. 

He has been charged with venality, but a care- 
ful examination of the testimony fails to make 
out a case that would support a conviction in 
any tribunal of justice. After the discovery of 
Mirabeau's bargain with the court, charges of 
bribery against public men in those days of acute 
suspicion became very common. In extenuation 
of Mirabeau's corruption some one has said : 
" He may have sold himself, but he surely never 
delivered himself." So far as Danton was con- 
cerned there is not a scintilla of evidence that he 
even without delivery, ever sold himself. 

At his trial he said in answer to one of the 
charges : " You say that I have been paid, but 
I tell you that men made as I am cannot be paid, 
and I put against your accusation, of which you 
cannot furnish a proof, nor the shadow, nor the 
beginning of a witness — the whole of my rev- 
olutionary career." This is a bold denial and 
does not sound like the language of a guilty man. 
The testimony upon which the charge is based is 
as follows: Bertrand de Molleville stated that 
he discovered, in an examination of the papers of 
Montmorin, proof that Danton had been paid 
out of the civil list, and that he wrote to Danton 
in December, 1792, about the time of the trial 
of the king, that he had his receipt for 50,000 
francs paid to him by Montmorin. De Molle- 
ville admits that he lied when he wrote that he 
had the receipt in his possession, but says that 
28 433 



DANTON 

he had seen it and knew that it was in existence, 
for it had been shown to him a year before per- 
sonally by Montmorin. He threatened to expose 
Danton in the Assembly if he did not moderate 
his rage against the king. 

It does not seem reasonable to believe that 
Danton, a trained lawyer, would have given a 
receipt for money paid under such circumstances. 
Moreover, he voted for the death of the king, 
and yet de Molleville did not publish him as he 
threatened. La Fayette, in his Memoirs, says 
that Danton's receipt was in the hands of Mont- 
morin for 100,000 francs, but La Fayette's en- 
mity against Danton was so bitter that he was 
willing to believe any story that reflected upon 
his honor. It is evidently based on the merest 
hearsay and it will be seen that the amount has 
risen from 50,000 to 100,000 francs. 

Brissot declared that he had seen a receipt for 
500,000 francs in the hands of Montmorin; still 
the amount is growing and the increase shows 
that somebody is wrong. This is the flimsiest 
kind of testimony to support such a charge. The 
original paper is not produced, the amounts 
named are various, and the witnesses have no 
personal knowledge of the matter. It must also 
be taken into consideration in judging the ac- 
cused that he. was neither sordid nor avaricious, 
nor was he ever in circumstances so strained as 
would have induced him to yield to temptation. 

Perhaps the whole story rose from the fact 
that in 1791, at the time of the abolition of the 
434 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

"Avocats aux Conseils du Roi" Danton was paid 
70,000 livres as compensation for the suppression 
of his office. It is well known that this matter 
passed through the hands of Montmorin in 
whose department the negotiations in relation to 
the settlement were had. 

Lamartine, who at times is very unfair in his 
criticisms of Danton, says : " The court well 
knew the tariff of his conscience, he threatened 
it in order to make it desirous of buying him, 
he only opened his mouth to have it stuffed with 
gold. ... He was bought daily and next 
morning was again for sale. Mirabeau, La Fay- 
ette, Montmorin, M. de Laporte, the due d'Or- 
leans, the king himself, all knew his price. . . 
Any other individual would have felt shame 
before men who had the secret of his dishonor, 
but he only was not ashamed and looked them 
in the face without a blush. His was the quietude 
of vice." 

Madame Roland, who disliked Danton, 
charged him with having gone to Belgium to 
enrich himself, stating that he dared to admit 
a fortune of 1,400,000 francs. That statement 
goes for what it is worth. If Danton made such 
an admission he must have been a greater fool 
than he would have been had he signed the 
receipt. Lamartine, in commenting upon this 
matter, says : " The stories of the immense 
fortune he possessed, said to be the result of his 
speculations in Belgium, were apparently refuted 
by the scanty dower he settled on his wife, con- 
435 



DANTON 

sisting of three thousand francs in assignats, 
which soon after were worth only twelve hun- 
dred." 

On December 3, 1793, when attacked by the 
Hebertists, he uttered the following emphatic 
denial : " You will be astonished, when I lay 
bare to you my private affairs, to see the colossal 
fortune which my enemies and yours have 
charged me with, reduced to the little amount 
of property which I have always had. I defy 
my opponents to furnish the proof of any crime 
whatever to me." He demanded that a com- 
mittee be appointed to examine into the charges, 
but after a speech by Robespierre it was consid- 
ered not at all necessary. 

At Danton's death his estate was sequestered, 
and he left just about what he could honestly 
have made and saved in his professional and pub- 
lic career. These matters have been most care- 
fully investigated and considered by M. Bougeart 
and Dr. Robinet, and they acquit Danton of every 
charge of venality. 

One of the greatest lawyers England ever pro- 
duced, Lord Brougham, in commenting upon this 
question, writes : " A charge of corruption has 
been brought against Danton, but upon very in- 
adequate grounds. The assertion of royalist par- 
tisans that he had stipulated for money and the 
statement of one that he knew of its payment 
and had seen the receipt (as if a receipt could 
have passed) can signify nothing when put in 
contrast with the known facts of his living 
436 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

throughout his short public career in narrow cir- 
cumstances." 

Stephens and Aulard both favor this view of 
the case. The former author says in his French 
Revolution : " Mirabeau declares openly in a 
letter to La Marck that the triumvirate and 
Orleanists had intrigued with Danton and had 
bribed him with a large sum, but all such stories 
have been proved to be false by the careful exam- 
ination of his monetary affairs during the Revo- 
lution." 

As a politician Danton was original, ingenious, 
resourceful, and possessed to a high degree the 
arts of the demagogue — we mean by this a dem- 
agogue in the best sense of that word, a leader 
of the people. He was not of the type of John 
Wilkes. Danton was denominated " the Alci- 
biades of the Rabble," but this designation was 
not altogether apposite ; he was of the people and 
loved their cause and never flattered or cajoled 
simply to mislead them. His patriotism was 
unquestioned; he was devoted to France and 
every inch of her soil was dear to him. He was 
a partisan or a party man in the full meaning 
of the term. Mignet goes so far as to say: 
" The welfare of his party was in his eyes supe- 
rior to the law and even to humanity." 

His ambition was not personal ; he would will- 
ingly have sacrificed himself for the Republic 
or his party. " Que mon nom soit fletri " — " Let 
my name be blighted if but the cause succeed," 
he cried out in one of his heated harangues. At 
437 



DANTON 

times he was not particular in the choice of the 
methods he employed to attain an object; he 
believed in the dangerous doctrine, " the end 
justifies the means," and so was not always gov- 
erned by high moral principles. 

Revolutionists cannot be saints nor be expected, 
perhaps, to practise a fine code of ethics in so 
fierce a conflict as was being waged in France. 
" He deemed," says Mignet, " no means censur- 
able so they were useful." Thiers writes of him : 
" Prompt and decisive, not to be staggered either 
by the difficulty or by the novelty of an extraor- 
dinary situation, he was capable of judging 
of the necessary means and had neither fear nor 
scruple about any." Citing from Lamartine, 
" Danton's revolutionary principles were well 
known. To abstain from a crime necessary or 
barely useful he considered a weakness." The 
same author on another page says : " He was 
devoid of honor, principles, or morality; he only 
loved democracy because it was exciting." Quot- 
ing further from the same writer : " He had 
everything to make him great but virtue." But 
he will stand a fair comparison in these partic- 
ulars, that is in so far as his methods and prin- 
ciples are concerned, with the other public men 
of his day. He no doubt in a desperate game 
did not scruple about the means to reach an end, 
but it must be said to his credit that he would 
rather play fair than false. There was an under- 
lying foundation of honor and truth in his char- 
acter. 

Every man with a virtuous strain, who in 
438 



3, 



•J 



N 



i 







l ill l 




THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

order to win when in a contest ignores or offends 
moral considerations, always tries to satisfy his 
conscience by making a promise to reform after 
the conflict. That cold, crafty politician, Louis 
XI, worked the two ends of the line, for he 
fumbled his relics and mumbled his prayers both 
before and after the commission of his political 
crimes. Even Marat was wont to say that if he 
lived long enough to witness the triumph of the 
Republic he would take refuge in the sphere of 
his scientific and literary studies. Danton per- 
sistently contended that everything he did was 
for ths welfare of his country and the restora- 
tion of order; he always had a reason for his 
action and even excused his conduct in reference 
to the September Massacres (which by many is 
considered the greatest blot upon his character) 
by declaring that the slaughter of the aristocrats 
was to insure peace and the safety of the Repub- 
lic and that the security and perpetuity of the 
nation were paramount to all other considerations. 
It is the same argument advanced as an excuse 
for war when both sides are praying to the one 
God for victory, but what may be justified as a 
necessity in a nation is denounced as a crime in 
an individual. 

Whatever else may be said of Danton, he was 
not mean nor contemptible in his methods. " His 
vices," declares a distinguished French historian, 
" partook of the heroic." He was a Colossus of 
tremendous force, whom nothing could affright, 
nothing dismay. He would combat man or devil 
and defy single-handed the allied armies of 

439 



DANTON 

Europe. It is the inborn courage of the man that 
commands our admiration. We have no time 
to criticise his faults or the means he adopted 
to reach his ends, we are so impressed with his 
superb boldness and audacity. In judging men 
of that period, and considering them from a 
moral standpoint we are apt to apply the rules 
that obtain to-day. This is wrong; it is not fair 
to them. It was an exceptional era, everything 
was topsy turvy — religion, society, politics, gov- 
ernment. " All men were under the influence of 
a temporary delirium, a delirium which rendered 
them alike insensible to their own sufferings, 
blind to their own perils, neglectful of their 
duties, and regardless of other men's rights." 
All these matters must be taken into considera- 
tion when we judge the actors of those days, if 
we desire to do them justice. 

Danton was a good reader of human nature, 
he could " see quite through the thoughts of 
men/' but he was at times too confiding and trust- 
ful and placed faith and reliance in those whom 
he ought to have known would betray him. Like 
a man who always fights in the open, he often 
expressed himself too freely. 

As a politician he was not cunning, in a low 
sense, and he therefore in this particular was 
no match for his wily adversary, Robespierre; 
so at last this great leader of almost superhuman 
power, this giant, was like Samson shorn of his 
strength and bound with thongs, falling an easy 
prey to his crafty and relentless foe. 

In diplomacy Danton was clever and keen; 
440 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

he was shrewd in negotiation and well equipped 
to further and protect the interest committed to 
his care. Dumouriez was an intriguer and a 
diplomat of the first order, but Danton saw 
through his plans with an unerring eye and meas- 
ured exactly the purposes of his ambition. 

As a statesman Danton had a constructive 
intellect, but he left to smaller men the carrying 
out of his plans; he had no special aptitude 
for details. " He was the most constructive 
mind of all the public men of the Revolution, 
as constructive as it was possible to be at the 
threshold of a transition period." A distin- 
guished French author goes so far as to say: 
" He was even a greater statesman than Mira- 
beau, if by that appellation we mean the man who 
understands the mechanism of government in- 
dependently of its ideal. He had political in- 
stinct." 

It was he that, in the spring of 1793, proposed 
and had carried a measure abolishing imprison- 
ment for debt. It was he that favored the 
abolition of slavery in all the French possessions. 
" By sowing liberty in the new world," he said, 
" we shall cause it to bear abundant fruit and 
shoot profound roots there." This was at a time 
when slavery was an established institution in 
the American Republic. He advocated the pen- 
sioning of maimed soldiers. " Would it not be 
well," he urged, " to grant land in the suburbs 
of Paris to those worthy citizens who have been 
mutilated in the defense of the Republic, and 

also give them beasts and thus start, under the 
441 



DANTON 

very eyes of the Convention, a colony of patriots 
who have suffered for the fatherland?" This 
suggestion led to the appropriation of large sums 
of money for the pensioning of veterans, A 
decree providing that the husband should not 
dispose of the common property without the con- 
sent of the wife received his warm approval. 
He believed children belonged to the State rather 
than to their parents, and as we have already 
seen strongly favored compulsory education, es- 
pecially did he endorse a system of manual train- 
ing. 

" When you sow the vast field of the Repub- 
lic," he said, " do not, I beg you, count the cost 
of the seed. Next after bread, education is the 
first necessity of the life of the people. . . . 
After giving France liberty and conquering her 
enemies, nothing will be more glorious than 
to secure to coming generations an education 
worthy of our liberty." 

It was on Danton's motion that the Convention 
decreed, on April 2, 1793, that " in every section 
of the Republic, when the price of corn is not in a 
just proportion to wages paid, the treasury shall 
levy a contribution on the rich, out of which shall 
be defrayed the difference between such price of 
corn and the wages of the needy." This smacks 
of Socialism, but under an orderly condition and 
outside of a revolutionary period Danton would 
probably not have favored such a plan. He be- 
lieved the law of the Maximum, which fixed a 
price above which the necessaries of life could not 
442 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

be sold, was a proper and beneficial regulation 
under prevailing conditions. 

The law of Forty Sous, proposed by him in 
September, 1793, provided that "the sections of 
Paris shall assemble in regular sessions every 
Sunday and Thursday, and every citizen so 
attending shall be paid forty sous for each and 
every session." This was a sop to the multitude. 

One of the most remarkable features of the 
French Revolution was the eloquence that sud- 
denly burst forth from every quarter; it seemed 
as if the thoughts of men, so long imprisoned, 
when freed, broke out into triumphant song. It 
was the renaissance of liberty ; the minds of men 
were aflame and their tongues but expressed their 
joy in the liberation. No period in history ever 
produced a greater number of orators. Verg- 
niaud stands in the very front rank ; he would 
have stood high in any age. He had the soul, 
the emotion, the imagination of the born orator. 
His flights were into the empyrean, his imagery 
was beautiful, his figures strong, his allusions apt, 
his logic clear, and his argument cogent and con- 
vincing. Mirabeau's eloquence was in many 
respects unsurpassed. He stood in a class by 
himself. Isnard's impassioned utterances thrilled 
the heart of France. " He was the most ardent 
of them all." Barnave, who coped even with 
Mirabeau, was an orator of marvelous power; 
and so we could go on through a long list of 
names. 

Many of the orators of the Convention, unless 
443 



DANTON 

they spoke extemporaneously, revealed in their 
finished orations the care taken in their prep- 
aration; their speeches had the smell of the 
lamp about them. Not so with Danton; in his 
" eloquence there appears no preparation, no 
study, nothing got up for mere effect." His 
speeches were harangues; they were nearly all 
short. They came red-hot from his soul and 
carried the truth home to the hearts of men; in 
their vehemence they bore down all opposition. 
He had the faculty of expressing a thought in a 
flash. In a few living words he could weave a 
vivid epigram. He was always a master of com- 
manding phrase and on the spur of the moment 
would utter those fiery sentences that became 
party shibboleths and aroused courage even in 
the faint-hearted. 

His argument was a succession of blows dealt 
quickly upon vital spots. Some one has said: 
" Eloquence with Danton was an explosion of the 
soul." A well-known French author calls him 
" the Pluto of Eloquence." Another says : 
" His eloquence was like the loud clamor of the 
mob." His oratory had a simplicity, a beauty, 
a rugged strength all its own. What can be finer 
than his defiant challenge, after the death of 
Louis, to the allied kings of Europe, at whose feet 
he threw down " as gage of battle the head of a 
king." 

Sometimes, from a rhetorician's point of view, 

his figures were unrefined, coarse, exaggerated, 

and defective in taste. For example, in a speech 

of remarkable power in answer to an attack made 

444 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

upon him in the Assembly, he closed with the fol- 
lowing metaphor : " I have entrenched myself 
in the citadel of reason. I shall sally forth with 
the artillery of truth and I shall crumble to dust 
the villains who have presumed to accuse me." 
Such metaphors may be unpardonable in the opin- 
ion of a schoolman, but the action of Danton was 
so strong, his expression so energetic that under 
the spell of his eloquence his auditors did not stop 
to criticise his figures of speech. Language so 
bombastic, had it come from a little man, or a 
speaker with a weak voice, or one without strong 
emotions, would have set the Assembly in a roar. 
A most distinguished British orator in comment- 
ing on this speech says : " Such violent meta- 
phors, of a vulgar class, Danton could venture 
upon from his thundering voice and overpower- 
ing action. In another they would have excited 
the ridicule from which those physical attributes 
rescued them in him." In pure declamation Dan- 
ton must have been magnificent. 

Were we to look for a specimen of his manner, 
perhaps none more characteristic could be found 
than his reply to an attack made upon him by 
Lasource, who charged him with his known par- 
tiality for Dumouriez (whose treason at this time 
was laid bare), and with playing with that am- 
bitious soldier the part of Cromwell. Stung and 
incensed by so foul an accusation, the great 
tribune retorted with all the strength he could 
summon and in conclusion said: " If then it be 
the profound sense of duty which dictated the 
condemnation of the king — if you conceived that 
445 



DANTON 

you thereby saved the people and thus performed 
the service which the country had a right to 
expect from its representatives — rally, you who 
pronounced the tyrant's doom, rally around me 
against the cowards who would have spared him ; 
close your ranks; call the people to assemble in 
arms against the enemy without and to crush the 
enemy within; confound by the vigor and stead- 
fastness of your character all the wretches, all the 
aristocrats, all the moderates, all those who have 
slandered you in the provinces. No more com- 
promise with them! Proclaim this, you who 
have never made your political position available 
to you as it ought to be, and let justice at last be 
done you! You perceive by the situation in 
which I at this moment stand, how necessary it is 
that you should be firm and declare war on all 
your enemies be they who they may. You must 
form an indomitable phalanx. It is not you who 
love the clubs and the people that desire a king. 
It is your part to root out such an idea from such 
as have contrived to save the former tyrant. 
For me, I march onward to a republic ; let us all 
join in the advance; we shall soon see which 
gains his object — we or our slanderers!" 

Another fine example of his style, perhaps even 
more characteristic than the foregoing, is the 
speech he made in reply to Gensonne, the Giron- 
din, who had as usual been theorizing and at the 
same time reflecting upon the political supremacy 
assumed by Paris : " What are your laws and 
theories to us, when the only law is to triumph 
and the sole theory for the nation is the theory of 
446 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

existence? Let us first save ourselves; we can 
discuss matters afterwards. France at this 
moment is neither at Lille nor Marseilles, nor at 
Lyons, nor at Bordeaux, but is everywhere where 
men think or act or fight for her. We have no 
longer departments nor separate interests, lines 
are obliterated between the provinces, all is 
France. Geography is at an end; there is but 
one people — there should be but one republic! 
Was it at Lyons they took the Bastile ? Did 
Marseilles effect the 20th of June? Do we owe 
to Bordeaux the 10th of August? Everywhere, 
wherever she has been saved, wherever her flag 
floats, wherever her cause is waged, or her prin- 
ciples are triumphant, there is France — there the 
one entire indivisible nation. What mean you by 
the tyranny of Paris? It is the tyranny of the 
head over the limbs — the tyranny of life over 
death. You seek to parcel out liberty so as to 
make it weak and vulnerable in all its members; 
we would declare liberty as indivisible as the 
nation, so that it may be unassailable in its head." 

Danton's voice was of immense scope and vol- 
ume ; he could tone it down to the soft and tender 
notes of a cooing dove, or could bellow like a 
Stentor. When angry or emphatic he could be 
heard an incredible distance. Michelet describes 
him as shaking the windows while addressing the 
Club of the Cordeliers. At his trial he was dis- 
tinctly heard by a vast multitude of people that 
had gathered outside of the court house. 

The energy of Danton in the days of his activ- 
ity was prodigious; his labors were titanic, no 
447 



DANTON 

task was impossible, and yet we marvel that in 
the time allotted to him he accomplished so much. 

His entire political career extended over a com- 
paratively short period, three years at the most; 
but in that brief space he made his reputation. It 
was not a slow ascent to fame by years of prepa- 
ration and service under a settled government, 
but an immediate, a sudden rise to power, to be 
cut short in the heyday of his manhood, for he 
went to the scaffold in the thirty-fifth year of his 
age, even before he had reached the real prime 
and vigor of his life. 

He was handicapped, as we have seen, at the 
opening of the Revolution because of the affair 
of Marat, and it was not until the death of Mira- 
beau that he took a prominent part in the politics 
of the nation. Before that his reputation was 
local, virtually confined to the section of the Cor- 
deliers, so that his political career covered a 
period of perhaps less than three years ; but it was 
a most strenuous period, for in those three years 
history was made faster than it is in a decade 
under a settled government in time of peace. 

A superficial glance at the French Revolution 
is apt to give the impression that it was but a 
saturnalia of crime. A closer inspection, how- 
ever, will prove that this was not the case. It 
had a meaning and a. purpose; it was a dreadful 
reckoning with the past; it was a heroic effort 
for the liberation of mankind from tyranny. 
" When oppression renders a revolution neces- 
sary," said La Fayette, " insurrection is the most 
sacred of duties." 

448 



THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 

" The nation was worn out with long wars and 
exhausted by supplying the extravagance of its 
rulers, who gave themselves up alternately to a 
fondness for pleasure and for arms." The lead- 
ers of the Revolution saw in man, irrespective of 
his position in social and political life, a human 
being entitled to the sympathies of his fellows and 
the protection of government, not a creature to 
be oppressed but to be elevated, not to be deprived 
of his rights but to be secure in their enjoyment. 

The energies of the Revolution may have been 
misdirected by vicious and ambitious men, in its 
excesses it may have disgraced and dishonored 
humanity, it may not have accomplished all that it 
should have attained, but it must be admitted that 
it did moderate the power of the tyrant and if it 
did nothing more than effect the abolition of 
feudalism that was worth all the blood that was 
shed. It was a tremendous burst of energy, 
agitating all France and every state in Europe. 
It was like a seething volcano that had been accu- 
mulating its force for centuries, and when it broke 
forth it overwhelmed and submerged everything 
in its pathway and shook the earth with its vibra- 
tions. Paris was the crater of this volcanic erup- 
tion. 

The French Revolution was a war of ideas, 
and, although the ideas at times were confused, 
out of all this chaos were at last evolved the prin- 
ciples of law, justice, equality, and humanity. 
Judge it not alone by its excesses but also by its 
results; for notwithstanding its terrors, its 

horrors, its crimes, it was a blessing to mankind, 
29 449 



DANTON 

overthrowing many vile institutions and reform- 
ing many others which it did not destroy. In 
the life of the civilized world to-day are to be 
traced its principles, its purposes, its philosophy. 



450 



INDEX 

A 

Aboukir, 302 

Achilles, 21 

Addison, his works in Danton's library, 49 

Administration of Law, 28 

Agriculture in the middle of the eighteenth century, 26 

Agrippina, 381 

Alcibiades, 167 

Alva in the Netherlands, 299 

Andu Renee, 292 

Ankarstrom assassinates Gustavus III of Sweden, 193 

Antonini Itinerarium, 22 

Antony, 134 

Antwerp, 317 

A'rcis sur Aube, birthplace of Danton, 22 

Areola, 302 

Ariosto, his works in Danton's library, 49 

Artois, Count d', his opinion of La Fayette, 215 

Assembly declares the country in danger, 225 

Augustus, 22 

Avocats aux Conseils du Roi, 47 



Bailly attacked by Marat, 83, 102; proclaims martial law, 
157; withdraws from the club of the Jacobins, 161; his 
execution, 394, 395 

Barbaroux, instigates presentation of petition to the As- 
sembly, 197,^198; welcomes the Marseillais, 234; com- 
mits suicide, 389 

Barentin, de, 47 

451 



INDEX 

Barere, 150, 313, 328, 329; member of the Committee of 
Public Safety, 379 

Barnave, 21 ; appointed commissioner by the Assembly to 
escort the King to Paris, 137; withdraws from the club 
of the Jacobins, 161; his execution, 394; his oratory, 443 

Barras on Marat, 81 

Batz, Baron de, attempts to rescue King, 346 

Baudrais, 345 

Belloc, Hilaire, on Marat, 95 

Berardier, Abbe, saved at the time of the September mas- 
sacres by Danton, 296 

Billaud-Varennes, 150; votes for death of the King, 2>2>7\ 
member of the Committee of Public Safety, 379; en- 
compasses the overthrow of Danton, 402 

Black Breeches, Day of the, 200 

Boccaccio, his works in Danton's library, 49 

Boileau, 386 

Bon, Jean, member of the Committee of Public Safety, 379 

Bonju, Marie Louise, 292 

Bougeart, 436 

Bouille, General, in conspiracy to aid King in his flight, 
107, 115, 116 

Bourbons, 169 

Bourdier, Dr., prescribes for Marat, 95 

Bourrienne, 202, 

Boze, 328 

Brienne, Lomenie de, minister of Louis XVI, 58 

Brissot, 337, 434 

Brougham, Lord, 428; on the question of Danton's venal- 
ity, 436 

Brune, a friend of Danton, 50 

Brunswick, Duke of, his proclamation, 227, 228, 229, 230, 
231, 232; besieges Verdun, 259 

Brutus, 134 

Buckle, 194 

Burke, Edmund, 295, 319, 321 ; description of Marie An- 
toinette, 384 

Buzot, 185, 389 

Byron, Lord, 287 

452 



INDEX 

C 

Caesar, Julius, 22, 134 

Cafes, 278 

Qa ira, 397 

Calonne, minister of Louis XVI, 57, 72 

Cambon, witness at trial of Dantonists, 413 

Campan, Madame, 63, 64, 109 

Carlyle, description of Danton, 424, 427 

Carmagnole, 397 

Carnot, on execution of King, 327; member of the Com- 
mittee of Public Safety, 379 

Carra, 241 

Cassius, 134 

Catharine II of Russia, 168, 194 

Cazotte, his daughter saves his life at the time of the 
September Massacres, 273 

Chalons, 116 

Champ de Mars, 155; Fusillade of, 157 

Champfort on revolutions, 252 

Champs Elysees, 236 

Charenton, 234 

Charles, Archduke, defeats Miranda, 356 

Charles VII, 42 

Charles IX, 299 

Charles, Professor, controversy with Marat, 80 

Charolais, Count de, 29 

Charpentier, Antoinette Gabrielle, 47 

Chartres, Duke de, advised by Danton, 304 

Chaumette, 281 

Choiseul, 124 

Cicero, 385 

Clavieres, 197 

Clermont, 119 

Clery, King's valet, 344 

Clootz, Anacharsis, 281 

Clovis, 41 

Coffinhal, 281 

Commissioners of the Convention sent out to quiet spirit 
of insubordination in the provinces, 369 
453 



INDEX 

Committee of Public Safety, 379; its members, its power, 
379, 380 

Conde, 188, 193 

Condorcet, 92; comments on Madame Roland, 183; ap- 
proves appointment of Danton as minister of justice, 257 

Condorcet, Madame, 292 

Constitution of 1791 adopted, 162 

Corday, Charlotte, 293; comes to Paris from Caen, 374; 
murders Marat, 375 ; her arrest and trial, 376 ; her exe- 
cution, 377 

Cordeliers, Club of the, issues public address, 152, 177 

Couthon, member Committee of Public Safety, 379 

Crawford, Quentin, aids in flight of the King, 108 

Cromwell, 315 

Custine, General, his victory, 303 ; his execution, 395 



D'Acloque, Marshal Mouchy, guards Louis on the " Day 
of the Black Breeches," 203 

D'Alembert, 92 

D'Allonville, 193 

Damiens, his punishment for attempting to assassinate 
Louis XV, 30 

Dampiere, M. de, killed while attempting to pay respect 
to the King, 140 

D'Andoins, Captain, 118 

D'Angouleme, Duchess, 171, 343 

Dandies, their attire, 279 

Dante, 49 

Danton, gave to the Revolution a fresh impulse, 18, 19; at 
first he was loyal to the monarchy, 20; his birth, 22; his 
father, 35; his mother, 35; his character as a boy, 36; 
attends school at Arcis, 38; enters seminary at Troyes, 
38; witnesses coronation of Louis XVI at Rheims, 40; 
studies law, 45; comes to the bar, 45; becomes an 
"Avocat aux Conseils du Roi," 46; marries Antoinette 
Gabrielle Charpentier, 47; his income, 47; his studies, 
48, 74; not a delegate to the States-General, 77; arrests 
454 



INDEX 

Soules, 77; President of the Club of the Cordeliers, 78; 
undertakes defense of Marat, 99, 102; elected adminis- 
trator of the department of Paris, 103; opposes King's 
visit to St. Cloud, 104; attacks La Fayette at the Jacob- 
ins', 133; leader of the ultra-revolutionists, 148; favors 
a republic, 149; reads petition on July 17th at the Champ 
de Mars, 156; compelled to leave Paris, 159; returns to 
Paris, 175; at first opposes war, 186; subsequently gives 
it his loyal support, 187; his admiration for Dumouriez, 
192; meets the Marseillais, 234; his part in the events 
of the Tenth of August, 256; made minister of justice, 
257 ; defies the allies, 260, 261 ; proposes domiciliary 
visits, 261 ; held responsible for the September massa- 
cres, 295 ; father of the Republic, 297 ; his energy, 303 ; 
advises duke de Chartres, 304; inveighs against the for- 
eign policy of the Girondins, 318; goes to Belgium as 
commissioner, 323 ; fathoms the designs of Dumouriez, 
323; the death of his wife, 324; votes for the death of 
Louis, 337; denounces the insolence of the King of Spain, 
339; visited by Theodore Lameth who negotiates to save 
the life of the King, 339, 340; denounces factional 
strife, 353 ; sent with Lacroix as commissioner to 
the army, 355; attacked by Lasource in the Convention, 
357 ; his reply, 358 ; defends Paris against the threats and 
imputations of the Girondins, 361 ; the first man of the 
Republic, 362; appeals to the patriotism of the people, 
362; replies to Isnard's threat to destroy Paris, 366; 
marries Mademoiselle Gely, 371 ; becomes by rotation 
president of the Convention, 377; urges reorganization 
of the revolutionary government and the vesting of 
absolute power in the Committee of Public Safety, 378 ; 
proposes decree providing for levee en masse, 380; re- 
grets execution of Girondins, 390; becomes supine, 398; 
longs for peace, 400 ; aids in the accusation and convic- 
tion of the Hebertists, 4c 1; his early opinion of Robes- 
pierre, 403; warrant for his arrest issued, 407; arrested 
jointly with Camille, 408; his trial, 412; his convic- 
tion, 417; his execution, 421, 422; his appearance, 423; 
his dress, 426; his power, 428; his character, 429; his 
455 



INDEX 



religious faith, 430; the question of his venality, 433, 434, 
435 ; his qualities as a politician, 437 ; as a diplomat, 440 ; 
as a statesman, 441 ; his eloquence, 444 ; his voice, 447 ; 
his energy, 447, 448; duration of his political career, 448 

D'Aumont, Duke, saved by La Fayette, 131 

Davaux attempts to rescue the King, 346 

David arranges obsequies of Marat, 95 ; sketches Danton 
and his friends while they are on their way to the scaf- 
fold, 421 

Davoust, 227 

Day of Federation, 225 

Declaration of Rights, 103 

Declaration of War, 196 

Diderot, 33 

Demosthenes, 371, 385 

De Seze defends the King at his trial, 331, 337 

Deslon comes to King's assistance, 125 

Diana of Poitiers, 22 

Desmoulins, Camille, 23; the friend of Danton, 50; his 
character, 51 ; calls the people to arms in the Palais 
Royal, 52 ; designated the Attorney General of the Lamp- 
post, 52, 78, no, 134, 160; his estimate of La Fayette, 
215; welcomes the Marseillais, 234; his comments on the 
death of Danton's wife, 325 ; his outcry at the trial of 
the Girondins, 386 ; urges reaction and clemency, 402 ; 
his arrest, 408 ; his trial, 410 ; his execution, 421 

Desmoulins, Lucile, 51, 408 

D'Herbois, Collot, 307 ; votes for death of King, 337 ; mem- 
ber of the Committee of Public Safety, 379 

D'Hervilly, Captain, 250 

Dillon, Theobald, murdered by his troops, 197 

Domiciliary visits, 261, 262 

Dormans, 137 

Drouet, 117; identifies and intercepts the King at Varen- 
nes, 122; accompanies the King to Paris, 141; his char- 
acter, 141 

DuBarry, Madame, her designation of Louis XVI when 
dauphin, 59; her execution, 393 

Dumont on Louis XVI, 66; on Burke, 320 
456 



INDEX 

Dumouriez, warns the queen, 71 ; attacked in Marat's jour- 
nal, 83 ; snubs Marat, 88 ; enters the ministry, 191 ; his 
character, 191 ; named successor of La Fayette, 300 ; 
visits the capital, 306; endeavors to retain the neutrality 
of England, 319; complains of the treatment by the 
home government and shows signs of disaffection, 355 ; 
conspires to overthrow the revolutionary government, 
356; his army defeated at Neerwinden, 356; deserts his 
colors, 357, 362 

Duport, 21 ; withdraws from the Club of the Jacobins, 161 ; 
saved at the time of the September massacres by Dan- 
ton, 296 

Durler, Captain, in command of the Swiss at the palace of 
the Tuileries on the Tenth of August, 249 

E 

Elizabeth, Madame, 137, 205 
Eloquence of the Revolution, 443 

Emigrant princes threaten the destruction of Paris, 219 
Encyclopedia, 34 
England declares war, 321 

Eperney, the commissioners of the Convention meet the 
royal fugitives on their return from Varennes at, 137 



Fabre d' Eglantine, 310; his trial, 410; his execution, 419, 

420, 421 
Favras, Marquis de, 101 
Ferron, 131 
Fersen, Count, friend of the queen, aids in the flight to 

Varennes, 107; inquires as to whether the queen has 

accepted the Constitution, 163 
Feudalism, 24 
Feuillants, 176 

Filles St. Thomas, attacked by Marseillais, 236, 237 
Firmont, Henry Essex Edgeworth de, Confessor to the 

King at the time of his execution, 343, 348 
457 



INDEX 

Flahaut, Madame, comments on Louis XVI, 6b 

Fleury, Mademoiselle, shelters Marat, 99 

Fox, 321 

Foulon, 391 

Fournier, 241 

Francesca da Rimini, 51 

Francis I, 22 

Francis II, his proclamation, 194 

Franklin, Benjamin, 80 

Freron, his parting salutation to Fouquier Tinville, 411 

Frogs of the Marsh, 286 

Fusillade of the Champ de Mars, 157, 158, 159 

G 

Gamain, the locksmith, reveals the secret of the iron chest, 

327 

Garat named as minister to succeed Roland, 355 ; appeals to 
Robespierre to save the Girondins, 390 

Gely, Mademoiselle, 371 

Gensonne, 328 

Girondins, 178; favor war, 185, 186; denounce the King, 
223; boast of the part they took in the events of the 
Tenth of August, 258; strongest party in the Conven- 
tion, 307; their views, 309; vote the King's death, 340, 
353; popular feeling against them, 366; decree of accu- 
sation against them, 367 ; expelled from the Convention, 
367; their trial, 385; their execution, 388, 389 

Gobel, archbishop of Paris, renounces his faith, 396 

Goddess of Reason, 397 

Goguelat, 124 

Gouges, Olympe de, 294 ; her execution, 395 

Gregoire, Abbe, 307 

Guadet, 328 

Guicciardini, his works in Danton's library, 49 

Guilhermy, 140 

Guillotine, the, 288 

Guillotin, Dr., his character, 288, 289 

Guise, Duke de, 132 

Gustavus III, assassination of, 193 
458 



INDEX 
H 

Hazlitt, 321 

Hebert, votes for King's death, 337 ■; accuses Marie An- 
toinette of foul crime, 381 ; his execution, 401 

Helvetius, 32 

Henry of Navarre, 146 

Henry II, 22 

Henry III, 132 

Hermann, president of the Revolutionary Tribunal at the 
time of the trial of the Dantonists, 410 



Inviolability of the King decreed, 152 
Iron chest, 327 

Isnard, threatens destruction to Paris, 366; his oratory, 
443 

J 

Jacobins, 174; their attire, 278, 279; as a party, 310 

James II, 106 

Jemappes, victory of, 315 

Joan of Arc, 41 

Johnson, Dr., his works in Danton's library, 49 

Jourdan, 227 

K 

Korf, Baroness de, no 

L, 

Lacombe, Rose, 292 

Lacretelle on Danton, 297 

Lacroix named with Danton commissioner to army, 355 ; 
his trial, 410 ; his execution, 421 

La Fayette, Marquis de, attacked by Marat, 83, 102, 130; 
fires upon the people on the Champ de Mars, 157, 158; 
withdraws from the club of the Jacobins, 161 ; leaves 
his command and comes to Paris, 209; scorned by the 
King and the queen, 209, 210; his life and character, 211, 
212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217; abandons his command and 
flees from France, 300 

459 



INDEX 

Lagache, 119 

Lagarde, Chaveau, represents Charlotte Corday at her trial, 
376 

Lalande, 92 

Lamarche, 391 

Lamartine on Danton as a boy, 36, 37 ; describes Marat, 87, 
135, 168; describes the Marseillais, 222; on Danton, 435, 
438 

Lamballe, Princess de, 273 ; her massacre, 273, 274 

Lameth, Charles, saved by Danton at the time of the Sep- 
tember massacres, 296 

Lameths, The, 21 

Lamourette Kiss, 224 

Laplace, 92 

Lasource attacks Danton, 357 

Lavoisier, 92 

Leaders of the Girondins, 178 

Legendre, 204, 408 

Leipsic, 302 

Leopold, emperor of Austria, 189 ; his death, 193 

Lepidus, 134 

Lettre de cachet, 28 

Lichtenau, Princess, 302 

Lindet, Robert, member of the Committee of Public Safety, 

379 

Lisle, Rouget de, composer of the Marseillaise hymn, 220; 
his execution, 395 

Longwy, fall of, 259 

Louis XI, 439 

Louis XIV, glory of his reign, 24; length of his reign, 24, 
67, 68 

Louis XV, 23 ; length of reign, 24 ; his extravagance, 53 ; 
predicts the deluge, 71 

Louis XVI, 22, ; his coronation at Rheims, 42 ; his minis- 
ters, 56, 57, 58; his character, 59; his personal appear- 
ance, 59, 60; his habits, 61 ; attempts to go to St. Cloud, 
104; his flight to Varennes, 107, 108, 109, no, in, 112, 
113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 
125, 126; returns to Paris, 137; issues manifesto, 144; 
460 



INDEX 

vetoes decree for enlistments, 197; before the attack 
upon the palace of the Tuileries, August the tenth, he 
takes refuge in the Assembly, 247; witnesses the vote 
on his deposition, 254; summoned to the bar of the Con- 
vention, 328; his trial, 334; condemned to death, 340; 
his execution, 348, 349 

Louis XVIII writes epitaph of Abbe Edgeworth, 343 

Lower classes, social and political conditions, 25 

Lux, Adam, 377; his execution, 393 

Lytton, Lord, on Diderot, 34 

M 

Macaulay, Lord, describes Danton, 429 

Maillard, his character, 265 ; in charge of the September 
massacres, 265 

Malesherbes, minister of Louis XVI, 59; defends the King, 
330, 331 ; pleads for delay, 341 ; his appeal refused, 341 

Mandat, General, commands the royal troops at the 
Tuileries on the Tenth of August, 239; summoned to 
appear before the Commune, 244; shot by Rossignol, 244 

Manuel, 307 

Marat, Jean Paul, 79; quarrels with professor Charles, 80; 
gains friendship of Benjamin Franklin, 80; practices 
medicine in London, 80; receives honorary degree of 
M. D. from university of St. Andrew, 80 ; publishes 
"Chains of Slavery," 80; appointed physician to body- 
guards of Count d' Artois, 80; becomes journalist, 82; 
attacks in his newspaper Mirabeau, Necker, Bailly, La 
Fayette, and Dumouriez, 82; his ferocity, 84; his dwell- 
ing, 86; his library, 86; his attire, 87; interrupts func- 
tions at Roland's and Talma's, 88; his persecutions, 89; 
describes himself, 91; his teachings, 94; his obsequies, 
95; attacks in his paper Necker, Bailly, and La Fayette, 
97; prosecuted for libel, 97; fails to appear, 98; La 
Fayette attempts to serve warrant, 98; Marat hides, 98; 
Danton undertakes his defense, 99; clamors for death of 
Bailly and La Fayette, 132, 160, 241 ; his dislike of the 
Girondins, 258; requests Roland to lend him printing 
461 



INDEX 

presses, 259; supports Robespierre, 313; votes for death 
of Louis, 337; pursues the Girondins, 363; urges the 
mob if hungry to help themselves, 363 ; brought before 
the Revolutionary Tribunal, 363 ; acquitted by the court, 
363, 364 ; his triumph, 364 ; persistently assails the Giron- 
dins, 373; assassinated by Charlotte Corday, 375 

Marbourg, Latour, appointed by the Assembly a commis- 
sioner to escort King to Paris, 137, 138 

Marc Antony, 167 

Marie Antoinette, 23, 71, 145, 173, 193, 205, 291; brought 
before Revolutionary Tribunal, 381 ; her appearance, 381 ; 
her trial, 381 ; found guilty, 381 ; her execution, 382 ; 
sketch of her life, 383 

Marseillais, The, march to Paris, 220; enter the capital, 
235, 236; brush with a battalion of the regiment known 
as the Filles St. Thomas, 236 

Marseillaise Hymn, 221, 315 

Masaubre, his massacre, 272 

Mathey, Louis apologizes on the way to execution, 346 

Maurepas, minister of Louis XVI, 56 

Maximum, Law of the, 309, 380 

Massena, 227 

McCarthy, Justin, on Marat, 95 

Mericourt, Theroigne de, arouses the mob on August the 
Tenth, 248, 292 

Messalina, 381 

Metastasio, his works in Danton's library, 49 

Michelet on Danton, 20; on Voltaire and Rousseau, 32, 67 

Mignet on Danton, 297, 409, 423, 437 

Milton, 49 

Mirabeau, his death gave new phase to the Revolution, 18, 
23; attacked by Marat, 83; his death, 102; his opinion 
of La Fayette, 215; his oratory, 443 

Miranda, his defeat, 356 

Molleville, Bertrand de, 433, 434 

Monge, 92 

Montesquieu, Spirit of the Laws, 32, 80 

Montgaillard, 290 

Montmirail, 114 

462 



INDEX 

Montmorin, no, 433 

Mont St. Michel, 30 

Moore, Dr., on Marat, 85, 86 

Moreau, 227 

Morris, Gouverneur, 60 

Mountain, The, 285, 286; rejoices over the conviction of 

the King, 342, 389 
Mountaineers, 286, 309 

N 

Napoleon, 23, 29, 147, 202; his estimate of La Fayette, 215, 

302, 389; on Collot d'Herbois, 401 
Necker, 57; attacked by Marat, 83, 102; 
Nile, The, 302 

O 

Oratorians, 38 

Orleans, Duke d', votes for death of Louis, 337; his trial, 

392; his execution, 393 
Olynthiacs, 371 



Paine, Thomas, announces advent of the Republic, 151 
Paris, 54; drought, 54; suffering of the poor, 54; early 

riots, 55; rejoices over the adoption of the Constitution, 

164; manners and customs, etc., during the Revolution, 

277, 278 
Peasant, The, his condition, 26 
Penelope, 185 
Petion, friend of Danton, 50; commissioner to escort King 

to Paris, 137; his conduct on the "Day of the Black 

Breeches," 206; his death, 389 
Petit Carrousel, III 
Philip, 371 

Philippeaux, his trial, 410; his execution, 421 
Philippics, 371 
Pichegru, 227 
Pitou, 281 

463 



INDEX 

Pitt, averse to war, 318, 319, 321 ; offered pension to Abbe 
Edgeworth, 343 

Pompadour, Madame de, 71 

Pont-Sommeville, 116 

Pope, his works in Danton's library, 49 

Prieur of the Cote d'Or, member of the Committee of Pub- 
lic Safety, 379 

Prieur of the Marne, member of the Committee of Public 
Safety, 379 

Proclamation of the Duke of Brunswick, 227 

Prudhomme, as to Danton's responsibility for the Septem- 
ber massacres, 295 

Q 

Queen Coco, 185 

R 

Rambouillet, 57 

Red Book, 73 

Repaire, Bernard de, 64 

Reveillon, 54; destruction of his factory, 55 

Revolution, French, 448, 449, 450 

Revolutions begin at the top, 74 

Rheims, 41 ; coronation of Louis XVI in the cathedral of 
Notre Dame at, 42 

Ricordain, M., marries Danton's mother, 36 

Rivarol calls the guillotine La Mirabelle in ridicule of 
Mirabeau, 289 

Robespierre, 23, 52, 90 ; assails La Fayette, 134, 174 ; on the 
Girondins, 310; assailed by the Girondins, 311; accused 
by Louvet, 312, 318; favors execution of King, 327, 365; 
conspires to overthrow Danton, 402 

Robinet, Dr., on the charges of venality made against 
Danton, 436 

Roederer advises King to withdraw from palace on the 
morning of the Tenth of August, 245 

Rohan, Cardinal de, 28 

Roland, M., inspector general of Lyons, 180 ; marries, 181 ; 
enters the ministry, 191 ; dismissed, 197 ; comments on 
events of September the second, 297; resigns from min- 
istry, 355; his suicide, 391 



INDEX 

Roland, Madame, comments on Danton, 48, 50; on reign 
of Louis XVI, 56, 161, 179; her life and character, 180, 
181 ; her marriage, 181 ; comes to Paris, 183 ; her affection 
for Buzot, 185, 219, 291 ; on Danton, 297 ; her opinion 
of Vergniaud, 337; inspires hatred for Danton among 
the Girondins, 360 ; her execution, 391 ; charges Danton 
with venality, 435 

Roman literature, its influence on the French mind, 39 

Romilly, 321 

Roscommon, 167 

Rosny stir Bois, 159 

Rousseau, his " Contrat Social," 33 

Roux, Jacques, brutally declines last request of Louis 
XVI, 345 

S 

Saint-Amaranthe, Madame, 294 

Sainte-Marie, Miomandre de, 64 

Sainte-Menehould, 117, 118, 119 

Saint Huruge, 200 

Samson the headsman, 347 

Santerre, his part in the events of the Tenth of August, 

245 ; accompanies Louis to the scaffold, 345 ; rebuked by 

Louis, 346 
Sausse, Mayor of Varennes, 122 
Scheldt, opening of the, 316 

Scott, Sir Walter, on Marat, 85, 95 ; on Burke, 320 
Seasons under the new calendar, 285 
Sechelles, Herault de, present at the taking of the Bastile, 

75; member of the Committee of Public Safety, 379; 

his trial, 410; his execution, 421 
Seine frozen over from Paris to Havre, 54 
September massacres, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 276 
Servan dismissed from the ministry, 197 
Sicard, Abbe, 266 

Shakespeare, his works found in Danton's library, 49 
Sheridan, 321 
Sillery, 386 

Sombreuil, his massacre, 272 
465 



INDEX 

Soules arrested by Danton, yy 

Soult, 227 

Stael, Madame de, comments on Napoleon, 29; comments 

on new Assembly, 165, 171, 292, 329 
States-General, JJ 
St. Cloud, 57, 103, 107 
St. Fargeau Lepelletier, assassinated by Paris for having 

voted for death of the King, 341 
St. Just, 52 ; on Louis XVI, 65 ; member of the Committee 

of Public Safety, 379, 412 
St. Mart, Count, his massacre, 271 
Stock Exchange closed by order of the Committee of 

Public Safety, 380 
Sullivan, Mrs., 108 
Swiss guards at the Tuileries on the Tenth of August, 250, 

251 



Tacitus, 39 

Taille, 24 

Talma, 88 

Target refuses to act as counsel for Louis at his trial, 330 

Tenth of August, 238, 239, 240 

Thiebault, Baron, 62 ; his Memoirs, 127 ; his description of 

the Marseillais, 236, 248 
Thierry, his massacre, 271 

Thouret announces completion of the Constitution, 161 
Tinville, Fouquier, conducts trial of the Dantonists, 410; 

his character, 411 
Tourzel, Madame, governess of the King's children, ill, 

137, 152 
Treaty between Austria and Prussia, 189 
Trianon, 57 
Tricoteuses, Les, 293 

Tronchet, one of the counsel for the King at his trial, 331 
Turgot, minister of Louis XVI, 56 



466 



INDEX 



Valaze commits suicide after trial, 387 ; his corpse be- 
headed, 389 

Valmy, engagement at, 301 ; Prussians retreat from, 301 

iVarennes, 120, 125 

Vaublanc, 189 

Venuti, his works in Danton's library, 49 

Verdun, Brunswick besieges, 259 

Vergniaud, 39; receives King in the Assembly on the 
Tenth of August, 247; attacks Marat, 313, 328; votes 
for death of Louis, 336, 337; his trial, 386; his oratory, 

443 
" Vieux Cordelier," 405 
Villette, Marquis de, 336 
Voltaire, 32 

W 

Waterloo, 302 

Westermann, 234, 241 ; leads the assault on the Tuileries, 

on the Tenth of August, 245; his arrest and trial, 410; 

his execution, 421 
Women, their influence in the Revolution, 292 



467 



